TV presenter says Strictly was 'worse than childbirth'

Wales Online

3 days ago

TV presenter says Strictly was 'worse than childbirth'
Angela Scanlon has insisted that she would rather give birth without pain relief "ten times over" than experience the pain of the "raw, bleeding blisters" she suffered on Strictly Come Dancing
(Image: PA )
TV presenter Angela Scanlon has frankly admitted that her stint on Strictly Come Dancing was a tougher experience than going through childbirth.
The 41-year-old presenter, who is a mother to daughters Ruby, seven, and Marnie, three, with entrepreneur Roy Horgan, would opt to go through giving birth without pain relief "ten times over" instead of enduring the "raw, bleeding blisters" that plagued her during her time on the popular BBC Saturday evening dance show in 2023.
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In conversation with reality TV personality Vicky Pattison, 37, on their 'Get a Grip' podcast, Angela, host of shows like Your Home Made Perfect, revealed: "I've had two children without pain relief and would do that ten times over in a day than have raw, bleeding blisters.
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"You have to put the goddamn shoes on and do a Viennese waltz - my heels have never had so much action.
"You put a plaster on and, because you're sweating like a donkey, it falls off. You put socks on with your ballroom shoe, and you're still rub-a-dubbing.
"You're raw."
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On the radio and on the dance floor, Angela, embraced by listeners on Virgin Radio UK, faced tough competition alongside professional dance partner, Carlos Gu, as they landed in sixth place on Strictly Come Dancing. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter .
Angela Scanlon took part in the 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing
(Image: BANG Showbiz )
Their Cha-cha-cha to Gloria Gaynor's hit 'I Will Survive' didn't charm judges Craig Revel Horwood, 60, Motsi Mabuse, 44, Shirley Ballas, 64, and Anton Du Beke, 58.
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The duo found themselves battling it out in a dance-off against Layton Williams, 30, known for his role in the BBC series Bad Education, and his professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, 27.
Reflecting on the tense moments under the red lights during Strictly Come Dancing, Angela Scanlon described the experience as "hell on Earth" while speaking to Caroline Hirons on the 'Glad We Had This Chat' podcast in 2024.
She expressed her disbelief at the practice, saying: "Under the lights?
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"Hell on Earth. I don't know how they're still allowed to do it. Honestly, it's absolute torture."
Angela went on to discuss their leaderboard position: "And the thing about it is, we were never, or we were very rarely, like up there on the leaderboard - twice maybe.
"So you can sometimes have like a little bit of a breather because I think.."
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She also touched upon the uncertainty of the voting system: "I don't fully understand how the marking works but you know, if you're right up there, it's very unlikely that the public voted, no matter how bad it is, is enough to get you out."
Finally, she highlighted the precariousness of not being at the top: "If you're skirting around the middle, it's a danger zone.
"The level of competition was insane so it was never comfortable."
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