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Strictly Come Dancing contestant Alex Kingston has revealed she secretly battled uterine cancer last year.
The former ER star, 62, was diagnosed with the disease in 2024 and subsequently underwent a hysterectomy and radiation therapy.
Alex 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”.’
Strictly Come Dancing contestant Alex Kingston has revealed she secretly battled uterine cancer last year
Alex waited until her run in the play was over before seeking medical treatment and she was told doctors found cancer in her fallopian tubes but it hadn’t spread to her ovaries.
After undergoing the hysterectomy and a course of radiation therapy, Alex now feels better than she has in years.
She added: ‘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.’
She has since signed up to compete in BBC reality TV talent show Strictly Come Dancing and she told the publication she now feels ‘like Superwoman’.
Alex went on to advise others to talk to a doctor about any mysterious symptoms because early intervention could save lives.
She said: ‘Womb cancer is really tricky because it is so sneaky. What I would say is, the body does know – and that was the body saying to me: ‘Help! There’s something really wrong.’
‘It’s so important to seek advice and have a check-up.’
