When Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden posted about the death of a close friend the supportive response from fans and friends was overwhelming.
‘I still can’t quite find the words or make sense of it. How something like this can happen to someone so fit, so healthy, so kind,’ she wrote. ‘A truly good soul.’
But few of the thousands who reacted with heart emojis and the like will have been aware of the enormity of the bond between the professional dancer and the tragic woman she named only as ‘Bex’ – and of just how closely their lives had been entwined.
That friend was in fact a fellow dancer turned very happily married young parent named Rebecca Jackson, the Daily Mail can reveal.
And Rebecca’s death last weekend, at 35, from a blood clot, was rendered even more poignant by the fact that just the day before she had given birth to her second child, a son.
Amy, who has just been confirmed as returning for this year’s Strictly, had known Rebecca since they were teenagers dreaming of a career as professional dancers.
The two young women, who had been born just months apart, would regularly meet on the ballroom circuit and soon became thick friends, competing together at venues like Blackpool ballroom.
Rebecca, who was originally from Shropshire, began dancing aged just four – while her great friend Amy was a relative late starter at eight. Both were naturally gifted.
Amy Dowden, 35, has shared the devastating news that her friend died after suffering from a blood clot just a day after giving birth to her son in a post shared to Instagram last weekend
After Amy’s post few people would have known just how closely their lives had been entwined. Now the Daily Mail can reveal that friend was fellow dancer, Rebecca Jackson
Rebecca was happily married to husband Sean. Her death from a blood clot, was even more poignant by the fact that just the day before she had given birth to their second child, a son
Rebecca reached the finals in several national level competitions before opting to specialise in ballroom – and then as a young adult won the British Dance Federation Star Championships, Pre National Trophy, Yorkshire Open and East Midlands championships.
During this period Amy would often stay for sleepovers at the Jackson family home, a farmhouse in rural Shropshire, where she also bonded with Bex’s mother Anne.
‘So many memories I’ll hold close…,’ Amy wrote of this time.’Being Blackpool roommates, sleepovers with Anne telling us to get some sleep while we giggled.’
Later Rebecca stepped down from competitive dancing to focus on teaching, setting up home in Swindon with her partner – while her great friend Amy found television fame in 2017.
The friends were married just a year apart and were both there for each other throughout. Bex married that partner, Sean Harper. in August 2021 with Amy following the following July marrying her dancer boyfriend Ben Jones in a lavish ceremony on the Gower in Wales.
In between the two weddings, Bex had fallen pregnant with her first child something Amy recalled this week, remembering ‘sharing a room on my hen when I realised you were pregnant and we couldn’t contain the excitement.’
On another occasion she credited Rebecca with ‘calming me down before my first day of Strictly rehearsals and you drove to see me and go through everything.’
In 2023 when Amy contracted breast cancer, Rebecca’s family were even more supportive: Ann raised money for a related charity, while Rebecca herself was a rock of support.
She remembered Bex: ‘making an 8-hour round trip to visit me during chemo and coming to hospital apts.’
Rebecca, who was originally from Shropshire, began dancing aged just four – while her great friend Amy was a relative late starter at eight. Both were naturally gifted
With the help of such support, Amy finally got the cancer all clear after a mastectomy and hair loss.
‘Bex was the kindest person, always putting others before herself,’ Amy wrote, saying she felt lucky to have had such a friend.’
Among the images, Amy shared a snap from her hen do and was seen kissing Rebecca on the cheek as the dancer beamed and wrapped her arms around her friend.
Other pictures showed the pair in happy times, as well as practising their dancing together.
Amy also uploaded an image of all the voicemails she touched upon in her emotional message.
She revealed her phone’s voicemails are full of supportive messages from Rebecca and that she would always cherish them.
At the end of May, Amy will again head out on her Reborn tour with Strictly alum Carlos Gu, which they first kicked off last year.
Amy’s part reflects her recovery from breast cancer and return to dancing, while Carlos’s story includes his life changes and finding freedom/identity in the UK.
But this time it will be without the support of her close friend Bex, who, even in the end, she was giving, an organ donor helping others right until the very end.
‘She had just given birth to her perfect baby boy the day before, completing her beautiful family with her little girl 3 and her true love, Sean,’ Amy said.
She then reflected on what she remembered and will particularly miss about Bex:
‘What I loved most were our random, overdue phone catch-ups, where I always knew I’d never be judged, only supported and understood,’ she said.
Among the images, Amy shared a snap from her hen do and was seen kissing Rebecca on the cheek as the dancer beamed and wrapped her arms around her friend. ‘Bex was the kindest person, always putting others before herself,’ Amy wrote.
‘My sister said earlier how at Blackpool you were always more worried about me than your own dancing. That was you. Always selfless. Always thinking of others.’
And in a promise to her friend, she ended: ‘Bex, I’ll keep you close always. I promise to look out for your darling mum, dad, Sean, and your beautiful babies. Love you dearly, my angel. xxxx’
A friend told the Daily Mail that Rebecca’s family were ‘too devastated to speak at the moment’, but added that Amy’s post had touched them.’
