Alex Kingston, 62, says Strictly made her fearless post-cancer and revived her youthful body

Alex Kingston has revealed that taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing has made her feel ‘fearless’ following her battle with uterine (womb) cancer last year. 

The actress, 62, who is currently competing in this year’s glitzy ballroom series with professional dancer Johannes Radebe, 38, was diagnosed with the disease in May and subsequently underwent a hysterectomy and radiation therapy.

But now, she says, she feels more fearless than ever – and credits Strictly with helping her reclaim the vitality of her 25-year-old self. 

In a recent interview with The Mirror, Alex shared: ‘My husband basically has said that my 25-year-old body has come out of the closet! Thank you, Strictly, I will take it!

She continued: ‘It has made me fearless. Well, at the moment I’m terrified for Saturday! But it’s made me want to encourage people to just go for it.’

Alex also revealed that speaking openly about her health battle has been important to her, as she hopes to help others who may be going through a difficult time.

She felt it was the right time to share her story, especially since she had not yet been eliminated from the competition. 

The actress explained that by continuing her journey on the show, she aims to show others that no matter what challenges you face, it’s possible to keep moving forward.

She also encouraged people who are facing difficulties to live their lives fully, and reminded them that it’s important to ‘take every moment’ and ‘enjoy it’ because life only gives us one shot. 

With the Strictly final nearing, Alex admitted she is focused on taking things one day at a time, just as she did during her radiation therapy. 

She stressed that she isn’t dwelling on the past or the future, but instead is concentrating on the present. 

It comes several months after Alex revealed she secretly battled uterine (womb) cancer last year.

She confessed that she had been experiencing symptoms for a long time but had put it down to her age – until she ‘haemorrhaged’ on stage while performing in a play last summer.

The mother-of-one explained that while battling cancer took up a ‘huge part’ of her life, she now feels like ‘Superwoman’ after overcoming the disease and signing up for Strictly. 

She explained that she had dismissed feeling unwell because of her age, sharing: ‘I never went down the cancer road in my head. It was a shock, because I have a very positive outlook on life in general. 

‘Even though my body was telling me there was something very seriously wrong, I kept thinking: “Oh, I’ve got a bad UTI or fibroids”.’ 

Alex, who was starring in The Other Boleyn Girl at the West Sussex theatre in April and May last year, waited until her run in the play was over before seeking medical treatment and was told doctors found cancer in her fallopian tubes, but it hadn’t spread to her ovaries.

She added to The Independent: ‘Despite having gone through all of that – and any cancer is really tough to accept, to steel yourself to go through all of the necessary procedures to get back into health – the minute I had the operation, I suddenly felt like myself again… [I] hadn’t felt like that for years.’ 

Alex previously told Daily Mail about her battle with perimenopause, which she believed to have been linked to her fertility struggles. 

She welcomed daughter Salome, now 24, with ex-husband Florian Haertel in 2001 as a result of in vitro fertilisation. 

Alex said in 2014: ‘I went through about 13 rounds of IVF before I got pregnant with Salome. It was very tough. You are so desperate, you don’t really understand what the long-term side effects can be. 

‘That’s what they don’t tell you in the medical profession. I put on weight with all the IVF – it’s insidious because it happens so slowly, and then it’s almost impossible to get rid of it. 

‘I was also perimenopausal very early; I have no proof, but I feel that it was linked to the IVF and the different hormones I was taking. 

‘There are things that I think aren’t fully explained to women when they are going through all that.’

In the same interview, Alex expressed her gratitude for life. 

Asked whether she had a motto for life, she mused: ‘I don’t have one, but I do feel keenly – and I know this is going to sound really cheesy – that I am lucky to be alive and I don’t want to take a single day for granted. 

‘It upsets me when I see people waste their lives.’

In September, she told the Daily Mail that she had signed up for Strictly in a bid to ‘do it for women of a certain age’.

At 62, the Doctor Who star is the oldest woman on this year’s series, which includes Amber Davies, Vicky Pattinson, and Balvinder Sopal.

Asked about whether she had any hesitations signing up for Strictly, she told the Daily Mail last month: ‘I had to sit and really think about whether I would be up for it physically. 

‘But at the same time, I just felt like, “come on, Alex, do it for women of a certain age.”‘

Last month, she admitted she was finding the process ‘challenging’ after her health woes.

During an appearance on This Morning with professional partner Johannes, she confessed: ‘It’s really different and more challenging than I thought it would be, to be honest, but I’m doing it for women of a certain age.

‘For anyone over 60, age is just a number, and to prove that after a certain age, you are not dead below the knee.’

Alex added: ‘I had quite complex health issues last year, which I have recovered from. 

‘Out of that, it’s just that thing you hear over and over again, which is life is too short if there is anything you want to do, be brave and just go and do it.’