Strictly's Alex Kingston shares common cancer symptoms after bombshell diagnosis

Strictly Come Dancing star Alex Kingston has opened up on her devastating womb cancer diagnosis last year and revealed her symptoms while urging others not to ignore health issues. The iconic actress who is best know for her roles in ER and Doctor Who,underwent a hysterectomy and radiation therapy during her treatment, which she says dominated her 2024. The 62-year-old mum of one said she initally assumed her symptoms were "old age" and therefore just accepted it.

The star had been experiencing symptoms such as bloating and aches for some time, but only sought medical help after spotting blood in her urine. "I never went down the cancer road in my head," she said. "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.'" The star confessed she had even suffered a haemorrhage while on stage at Chichester Festival Theatre, which she described as "shocking".

She sought medical attention after the show's run and was told the cancer was in her fallopian tubes but had not spread to the ovaries.

"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," she told The Independent.

Given her experience she urged other women not to ignore any signs of ill health, and to have check-ups if they feel anything is wrong.

The most common symptom of womb cancer, unexpected vaginal bleeding, can include: bleeding after your menopause, bleeding between periods, bleeding after sex, heavy irregular periods, persistent heavy periods, unresponsive to medical management and watery or bloody vaginal discharge. However, not all abnormal bleeding is womb cancer so the best advice is to visit your GP to talk about your symptoms.

Alex confessed it was her illness which inspired her to say yes when Strictly came knocking because "life is too short" not to take opportunities you want.

"When they approached me, I thought of that cliché: life is too short. Go for whatever it is you secretly long to do, because if you're not brave and you don't do it, it won't happen," she said.

Paired with professional partner Johannes Radebe, Alex has proven a hit with viewers and judges alike and the pair topped the leaderboard on Saturday October 4 with their samba.

Despite this she told the publication she is taking it one dance at a time although she confessed she would like to stay in for Johannes' sake. "He's putting so much effort into me - I would like to get as far as we can because I think he deserves it," she said.