Alex Kingston opens up about how Strictly aided her cancer recovery
Lily Waddell
Yahoo News UK
The Doctor Who star talked exclusively to Yahoo UK about how training for Strictly has fitted in with her recovery
Alex Kingston has told Yahoo UK that she feels better than ever, thanks to Strictly Come Dancing, after she had faced a womb cancer diagnosis last year.
Womb cancer is cancer that affects the uterus and usually starts in the lining, according to the NHS. Kingston said she “haemorrhaged” on stage at the Chichester Festival last summer, but she had experienced symptoms of bloating and achiness for years.
The Doctor Who star had a hysterectomy and radiation therapy during her cancer treatment that finished at the end of 2024. Only weeks ago, the 62-year-old actor chose to speak about her experience for the first time while starring on the BBC dance show.
Partnered with Johannes Radebe, Kingston talked exclusively to Yahoo UK about how training for Strictly has fitted in with her recovery. Behind the scenes, the producers had to speak to her surgeon and oncologist before she could sign up to Strictly. The dance show has been transformative for her.
Kingston told Yahoo UK: “Well, before I started, I was very upfront with the producers because I thought they need to know. And I don’t want to embark on this, and then realise that I’m actually not physically well enough to do it.
“So we talked about it, quite rightly, the producers wanted to talk to my surgeon and my oncologist, and because that welfare is still ongoing.
‘ ’The thing that’s quite extraordinary for me on this journey is that I feel better and fitter now
“But they absolutely gave me sort of like their blessing and clean bill of health, and the thing that’s quite extraordinary for me on this journey, is that I feel better and fitter now than I did two years ago.
“But I just didn’t realise it at the time that had been taken from me by the illness. So I just sort of feel like I’m back to my usual self again, but only better.”
Her cancer recovery played a big part in Kingston wanting to sign up to Strictly as she realised “life is too short”.
Strictly pro Radebe has worked his magic on the dances to help Alex Kingston build her fitness levels. “Johannes has been very good with me on my journey because he’s plotted the dances in a way that he’s allowed me to get a certain level of fitness and technique,” she said.
Lifts have proven to be one of the challenges in the Strictly Ballroom for Kingston. The couple showcased their first lifts of the series during their salsa in Halloween Week, six weeks into the competition.
“We are right at the crunch point where you can no longer avoid a dance with lifts,” she said. “Now we’re starting to do the dances that require lifts, and that has been massively challenging for me because he asked me, last week, he said, ‘When was the last time you did a cartwheel?'”
She added, “And he asked me, as if I’d done it last week or something, but he was so relaxed. I was like, ‘Johannes, [it’s been] over 50 years’. But yes, but so, of course, with lifts come injuries. The body is not happy.
“So this, for me, is now, this is like a real challenge. Building up the fitness, yes, building up the flexibility, not being afraid. Any lift, you’ve just gotta go, Alex, put your big girl pants on, do it!”
Keep dancing
After having an incredible experience on Strictly, Kingston plans to keep dancing with her husband of 10 years, Jonathan Stamp.
She said: “I love dancing, and you know, I’m the first on the dance floor and the last to leave at any wedding, as all my friends know.”
She added, “My husband likes to dance, but again, he’s never been trained, but we enjoy dancing together. So, I think we’ve just got to find some more classes. Definitely, now that I’ve started this journey, I don’t want to stop it.
“I don’t want it to end. Even if obviously there will be a moment where it ends for me on Strictly, whenever that is, but I will carry on dancing for sure.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues at 6.25pm on Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.