Alex Kingston, the actress who dazzled audiences on the 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing, shares her personal story of battling uterine cancer. Diagnosed in 2024, she describes the physical and emotional toll of treatment, including a hysterectomy and radiation therapy.
Unexpected Onset During Performance
Kingston first sensed something was amiss during a live theater production. While performing on a brightly lit stage, she experienced a sudden hemorrhage mid-scene. Surrounding a fellow actor portraying Mary Boleyn in a tense moment of childbirth, Kingston stood at the head of the bed when the incident occurred.
She recalls, “I absolutely did not think I had cancer. I was about to start another job and had to pull out when the diagnosis came through. So that was a shock.”
The rapid progression of events left little room for anxiety. Kingston explains, “Because I was so unprepared, it happened so fast, that actually, in a funny sort of way, I didn’t have time to be scared because I hadn’t mulled over it. I hadn’t dwelled on it; I just sort of dealt with it.”
The Demands of Radiation Therapy
Following her diagnosis, Kingston underwent a hysterectomy followed by daily radiation sessions. She highlights the relentless nature of the treatment, stating, “Radiation therapy is tiring, but it’s more tiring because you’ve got to do it every single day. You can’t really focus on anything else; it takes so much time out of your day and it’s emotionally exhausting.”
Despite the challenges, Kingston emerged empowered. “Once I was through that, I felt like superwoman,” she shares.
Support from Fellow Actors
During the ordeal, Kingston found solace in her theater colleagues. She notes their immediate concern during the onstage incident, saying, “I wasn’t embarrassed at all. I didn’t know what was happening, and certainly when it was happening on stage, I was more concerned about the rest of the actors being freaked out and embarrassed.”
She adds that the acting community rallied around her: “Actors on the whole, we’re very supportive of one another.”
Kingston, best known for her role as River Song in Doctor Who, continues her acclaimed career across stage and screen, using her platform to shed light on the realities of cancer treatment.
