Strictly's Amy Dowden accuses Brendan Cole of 'desperately craving attention' after he made 'upsetting and cruel' comments about her dance skills following her cancer battle

Amy Dowden has hit back at Brendan Cole over his criticism of her Strictly performances, accusing him of seeking 'the attention he so desperately craves'.

The dancer, 36, revealed that he had not contacted her despite having her number – and said 'the decent thing to do' would have been to call.

Speaking at Monday night's Pride of Britain Awards she said some of the headlines had been 'quite upsetting', after Cole claimed she had 'not been up to the challenge' of training her celebrity partners.

'Rather than him worry about what the headlines were saying about himself it would've been nice for him to call. He's got my number,' she told the Daily Mail.

'Some of those headlines were quite upsetting, he said I've not done a good job since my cancer.

'The best thing to do, the decent thing to do would've been to get in touch.'

Asked whether she had heard from him, she replied: 'Nothing, I've not heard from him. It's fine, I don't expect anything else.'

And when asked whether she felt a male dancer would have faced the same criticism, she delivered a particularly pointed response.

'I don't know, I just don't want to give him the attention he so desperately craves.'

Her comments come after Cole's friend and fellow former Strictly professional James Jordan told the Daily Mail that he was 'a bit gutted' by the reaction to his assessment of her teaching.

Jordan, who is touring with Cole in Legends Of The Dance Floor, insisted his friend had been commenting on choreography rather than her health.

'He was just asked about her dancing. He wasn't asked about any of that,' he said.

But Jordan acknowledged that a private message might have helped, saying: 'What he should have done in hindsight, I suppose, was find Amy's number and send her a message.'

Dowden has now made clear that Cole already had the means to contact her.

The row began after she and celebrity hairdresser Chris Appleton, 43, became the first couple eliminated from this year's competition, following her first-round departure with businessman Thomas Skinner last year.

Giving his verdict to Sky Vegas, Cole said: 'To be a pro on Strictly is a big job and one has to be up to the challenge.

'Amy has not been up to the challenge, in my opinion.'

He also criticised her for counting Appleton through their routine, claiming: 'She's standing out there counting him in. She's counting every step for him.'

Dowden initially appeared to answer with a dressing-room video in which she blew a kiss and mimed along to the opening of Mariah Carey's Obsessed.

She captioned the Instagram post: 'If you know, you know #bekind #inaworldyoucanbeanythingbekind.'

The Welsh dancer missed the 2023 competition after being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

In February 2024, she announced that tests showed 'no evidence of disease', explaining that she would continue to need injections and regular check-ups.

She returned to Strictly that autumn with JLS singer JB Gill, but a foot injury forced her to withdraw, with fellow professional Lauren Oakley taking over as his partner.