Strictly Come Dancing star Alex Kingston has given a candid and emotional account of her uterine cancer journey, revealing she initially failed to recognise the warning signs her body was sending. The 62-year-old actress, known for roles in Doctor Who and ER, disclosed last year that she underwent a hysterectomy and radiation therapy after her diagnosis.
Ignoring the Body's Signals
In a heartfelt interview with Prima magazine, Kingston explained how she misinterpreted key symptoms. "I hadn't realised that uterine cancer was a cancer that didn't get much airtime," she confessed. "I think it's probably because on the whole, it is a cancer where if you recognise something is wrong, your body is able to tell you. And if it's caught early enough, it is survivable."
The actress admitted her positive outlook worked against her in this instance. "Because I'm such a positive person, even though my body was trying to tell me that something was very wrong, I wasn't reading the signs," she revealed. "I thought that all the things such as the bloating and weight gain, or injuries not healing properly, were because of my age."
The Moment of Realisation
Kingston described how she rationalised her symptoms as normal ageing. "I thought, 'This is what it's like to be in your 60s, and it's just part and parcel of getting older'. It was only when I was doing a play and I started haemorrhaging on stage that I realised, 'Oh there's something going on'. But even then, I thought maybe I'd got a burst fibroid. I never, ever went down the cancer road, so it was a shock."
Strictly Come Dancing and Cancer Disclosure
The actress revealed her diagnosis while competing on Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Johannes Radebe. However, she was initially hesitant to discuss her health battle publicly. "I kept it quiet for a long time," Kingston explained. "I'm quite a private person and I felt, 'Why should I talk about my cancer?' and also on Strictly, I thought 'I don't want my journey to be about my sickness'. I wanted it to be about going forwards and life affirmation."
Changing Perspective on Sharing
Kingston's perspective shifted as she began receiving responses from others. "But then I realised when I started to get responses from people that, actually, this is important. If nothing else, it's important to encourage people that if their body is behaving in a slightly unusual way, don't just write it off as being old or suddenly becoming gluten intolerant. It could be something else and to go and have it checked. So I feel now that it was a good thing that I opened up about it."
Responding to Strictly Criticism
The interview also addressed comments made by Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood about Kingston's Halloween performance. He had described her salsa to 'Horny' by Hot 'n' Juicy and Mousse T as resembling "a midlife crisis," a remark that drew widespread criticism.
Kingston revealed she was unaware of the comment at the time. "When I did the Strictly Halloween 'Horny' number, I wasn't fully aware of the scathing critique Craig had given me about looking like a woman who is having a midlife crisis. I didn't realise that he was saying it or know about the follow-through in terms of people saying, 'That's just outrageous, how dare you say something like that?'"
Embracing Life at Any Age
The actress responded to the age-related criticism with defiance. "It was a little mean-spirited for Craig to say that and also I just felt like it's exactly the opposite of what I'm trying to advocate. It's like, no, if you want to dance and swing a devil's tail around and you're in your 90s, do it. I mean, this is your life. So live it!"
Kingston elaborated on her philosophy towards ageing. "I've never spent time thinking about my age. I know I'm getting older, but I do try to just live in the moment. And I've never felt like I have to subscribe to the norms or the rules that have been set about how one should behave at a certain age. I've always been like that, even with how I choose to dress, never following or conforming to whatever the fashion of that particular year is supposed to be. I've always found my own style, which is an expression of me and who I am. In a sense, I've also applied that to how I live day to day and to ageing."
The April 2026 issue of Prima magazine featuring Alex Kingston's full interview is now available for purchase.
