Alex Kingston: Strictly Come Dancing was ‘perfect antidote’ to cancer treatment

Strictly Come Dancing star Alex Kingston has said appearing on the show felt like the “perfect antidote” after undergoing treatment for uterine cancer.

The 63-year-old actress revealed her diagnosis while she was a contestant on the BBC dancing competition last year, paired with professional dancer Johannes Radebe.

Kingston, best known for starring in Doctor Who and ER, has previously said she has had a hysterectomy and radiation therapy as part of her cancer treatment.

In an interview with Saga Magazine, she said: “I knew I could hear a beat and that I didn’t have two left feet, and I love dancing to Latin music, but I certainly didn’t think that I was going to be able to do any ballroom dancing.

“I have to say, I truly loved my experience, and it was the perfect antidote to coming through cancer treatment.

“To be paired with Johannes Radebe was a dream. He’s got a beautiful soul.”

Speaking about her diagnosis, she said: “I was due to start another TV show when I was diagnosed with cancer and had to walk away – something I’d never done before and which felt very uncomfortable.

“Like many actors, you always fear you won’t work again and I worried people might think I was unreliable.”

Speaking about her upcoming ITV drama, Kingston said: “Secret Service was the first job I was offered after treatment and it felt perfect – not a huge role but enough to ease me back in.”

The actress also told the lifestyle magazine about how her diagnosis impacted her outlook on life, and said: “I’ve always been a positive, glass half-full type of person, and going through a cancer journey has made me double down on that.

“It makes you confront your mortality but I intend to live to 100.”

Kingston has previously spokeN about her struggles with fertility and has been open about undergoing multiple rounds of IVF treatment to conceive her daughter Salome, who was born in 2001.

When asked what the most challenging time for her has been, she said: “Going through IVF to have my daughter Salome was very tough.

“It builds up incrementally because you’re on this track and you knuckle down and do it because you have this end game.

“But it is hugely debilitating, and I think when one’s in it, one’s not fully aware of how debilitating it can be, particularly if you go through several cycles as I did.”

“I was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2024 and I do wonder whether it’s connected in some way,” she added.

– The full interview is available in Saga Magazine’s April issue.