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Strictly Come Dancing‘s Amy Dowden has been awarded by the Prime Minister for raising awareness of Crohn’s disease.

Amy, 32, from Caerphilly, lives with the condition herself after being diagnosed when she was 19-years-old.

On St David’s Day, she was invited into 10 Downing Street, where Rishi Sunak presented her with the daily Points of Light award.

Throughout childhood, Amy experienced bouts of illness which caused her to be in and out of hospital. Ten years after her diagnosis, Amy began to speak publicly about the condition, having kept it quiet out of fear of discrimination and missing out on job opportunities.

In 2020, she starred in the BAFTA Cymru-winning documentary Crohn’s and Me, which showed the realities of living with the condition, which includes symptoms such as extreme abdominal pain, vomiting, exhaustion and diarrhoea.

Amy is also an ambassador for Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

After receiving her award, Amy said she “could not be more thrilled” and dedicated it to “all sufferers of Crohn’s Disease and the amazing people at the charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK”

She added: “It is no one’s favourite topic but I hope it inspires more people to talk about gut health and seek a diagnosis. I am honoured to be invited to 10 Downing Street, and on St David’s Day too.”

In a letter to Amy, Mr Sunak thanked her for “all that you are doing to raise awareness of Crohn’s disease and other invisible conditions”.

He continued: “The courage with which you have used your public profile to speak about your own experience of Crohn’s is helping more people than you will ever know.

“You are giving them the confidence to talk about their own conditions. You are inspiring them to achieve their own dreams while living with a chronic illness. And you are tackling the stigma so wrongly associated with these invisible health conditions.”