Rachel Riley has revealed that celeb mates often hit her up for some insider advice when they’re tapped up for Strictly Come Dancing.
The Countdown’s maths whizz says she is always honest with her fellow celebs as she wants to give them a clear account of what to expect. Spilling the beans on the High Performance Woman Podcast, she didn’t mince her words about the reality of the glitzy show: “I don’t tell people to go into it lightly.
“People say ‘I’ve been offered this, and should I do it? On a few occasions, I’m quite honest when I say ‘It’s not all golden’.”
The Countdown star even shared that her twinkle-toed partner turned hubby, Pasha Kovalev, nudged her towards therapy to handle the show’s intense stress: “When I was on Strictly. I got stage fright I hadn’t had it before but it was like an out-of-body experience.”
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Turns out, Rachel’s strive for perfection was at the heart of her jitters, a trait that didn’t exactly jive with the high-stakes weekly live performances: “I’d never danced a step before in my life, and it was absolutely terrifying you go in on Sunday to do a new dance and on Saturday you’re dancing in front of 10million people.”
(Image: Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images)
Her therapist’s tip? Breathing exercises, which she whipped out during her last tango on the show. And while she aimed for a modest eight from one of the judges, she ended up smashing her goal: “I got two eights the week I was voted out.”
Rachel also opened up about her Strictly “PTSD,” expressing relief that social media wasn’t as rampant back in 2013 when she took part. Fast forward ten years, and the TV whizz believes the current crop of celebs have it tougher with today’s online pressures.
(Image: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
Despite finding love with pro dancer Pasha on the show, Rachel admits the romance blossomed much later. Yet, each year Pasha returned to the Strictly dance floor, Rachel was hit with a wave of memories from her own challenging stint: “Each year he would do it. I would remember my week and what was happening that week and have all the emotions come back.”
She also felt a strong connection to Pasha’s new partners, empathising deeply with their journey: “And then the next person he’d be dancing with, I’d be over-empathising with what they would be going through, and going through it again.”
(Image: PA)
However, Rachel generally tries to steer clear of dwelling on her Strictly days: ” If people ask me about it now,” she confesses, “I just smile and politely nod and then move the subject away.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
