Amy Dowden ‘gutted’ MasterChef Strictly special pulled amid Gregg Wallace row

Amy Dowden has said she is “gutted” the MasterChef Strictly Christmas special has been pulled after Gregg Wallace stepped away from hosting the cooking show as allegations of misconduct are investigated.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 34, was among the professional dancers who were to feature in the Strictly Festive Extravaganza which was due to be part of the BBC’s December schedule.

The broadcaster announced earlier this week the programme and a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off special would no longer be broadcast due to the “current circumstances”.

He has since faced a string of allegations of inappropriate behaviour, with BBC News reporting that one woman said he touched her bottom after an event and another said he pressed his crotch against her while filming on a different show.

His lawyers have previously strongly denied “he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, according to BBC News.

She explained the character Uncle Bryn, played by Rob Brydon, is so similar to her father that people asked if the role was based on him when the show launched, adding: “I’d come off the dancefloor and he’d go: ‘Oh, that was absolutely fabulous.’”

“I’m rooting for him, and I think he can be in that final.”

She revealed that at times during her cancer treatment people would forget about her Crohn’s disease but she still had to navigate potentially having flare-ups.

The dancer, who has had the condition since she was aged 11 but was diagnosed at 19, also praised Strictly for being the first job which did not “discriminate” against her over her Crohn’s disease.

She said: “They totally accepted it, put things in place to help me.

“I can remember when I got the job my parents saying: ‘Oh, do they know about your Crohn’s yet?’ because I had so many people reject me beforehand.”