Strictly star Amy Dowden almost quit show after cancer battle"I’d been pulled out of Strictly and I was ready to hang up my dancing shoes," she told The Mirror. She credits her husband Ben and fellow dancer Carlos Gu with convincing her to keep going. Ms Dowden said: "It was Carlos [Gu] and Ben, my husband, who gave me that tough love, that motivation to make sure I didn’t. Next is Aleksandra Isaeva, a multiple Ukrainian National Latin Champion currently living in Italy. Two-time National Latin Champion in his native country, Canada, Mark Karmalita rounds out the newcomers.