I turned down Strictly multiple times – the show was like therapy, but my pelvic floor wasn’t ready, says Angela Scanlon

FOR many celebrities, appearing on Strictly Come Dancing is top of their wish list – but not Angela Scanlon.

She turned the show down numerous times, before finally accepting last year.

It wasn’t worries over the long hours or the dreaded Curse that put the Irish star off taking part – but fear of not being good enough.

“It stemmed from being too afraid to be seen as not clever or funny or smart enough. So I just said: ‘I don’t think I want to do that.’

“And with Strictly, 100% there was a real effort to change that part of me and prove to myself that, actually, I don’t need to be the best. [I realised] there are loads of things that I can get from the experience that don’t rely on me getting the Glitterball trophy.

“The idea of opting out because you assume – sometimes right, sometimes wrong – that you’re not going to be the best, it just starves you of experiences.

“And those experiences make you resilient and you might enjoy it, even though you’re s**t at it. I now try to throw myself into things.”

Angela, 40, was also inspired to take part as something purely for herself, after having her second child, Marnie, in 2022. She also has Ruby, six, with husband Roy Horgan, 43, who works in tech.

“I’m a big believer in timing,” she says. “But in hindsight, I had an 18-month-old baby and my pelvic floor, among other parts of my body, were not ready. 

I just felt it’d be nice as a mum to do something that was very much for me. It was kind of reclaiming my body. I was trying to remind myself that I was strong.”

Angela, who partnered with Carlos Gu and finished sixth, has had a complicated relationship with her body, struggling with eating disorders since her teens. By the age of 20, she was often surviving on black coffee and tinned pineapple.

“It’s the one addiction you can’t abstain from,” she says. “There are clear lines around drugs and alcohol, but with [food], you’ve got to face it three times a day and every joyful occasion is built around it. It becomes all-consuming and can suck a lot of joy out of lives.” 

Angela adds: “I want my girls to be healthy, obviously, and I try to impress that on them. It’s tricky, because I don’t remember when I was growing up and in the grip of it, having very many points of reference of people who had been there, and come through it.

“I speak about it because what you want in those moments is a sense of hope, like: ‘You can get to the other side and have a great life.’ But exercise has almost never been approached in a measured way. It was used as a tool against myself.

“Strictly was [about] getting back in touch with my body and getting strong. I feel like dancing is so freeing, particularly as someone who’s had a tricky relationship with their body, to be able to enjoy that without being self-conscious.”

Does she worry that she could relapse back into those dark days? 

“It’s very rare for me,” she says, “But I will notice it kind of pop up – it’s my nudge to recalibrate. Rather than feeling like I’m about to be swallowed again, it’s a helpful reminder.”

As well as helping her feel strong, Strictly also gave Angela a chance to feel sexy – something she struggled with as a result of her upbringing.

“As an Irish woman, I didn’t realise how complicated being sexy and being close to somebody and being overtly showy would be. We’re culturally told to not do that. It’s strongly discouraged and there’s a lot of shame attached to the female body.  

“For me to show my daughters that you can go out there and be free… It’s OK to be uncomfortable and to overcome that discomfort. Things can go wrong and people can have opinions about you, but they don’t define you. You can get up and go again. 

“Previously, I was very sensitive to people’s opinions, whereas now I couldn’t care less. Let’s be honest about it – there are people I think are wildly annoying and they probably find me annoying. We don’t need to panic over it. Move on.”

Fellow Strictly celeb Amanda Abbington dropped out, claiming she has developed PTSD as a result of her experience of being on the show, while other former contestants, including Rachel Riley, have also spoken out about how demanding it can be. But Angela found the opposite, and describes the process as like “therapy”.

“I fully threw myself into it,” she says. “I was very determined and continually reminded myself – because I am competitive – that actually, week to week, doing the training and the enjoyment of the process is what I’m here for, not the end result.”

Angela also made a stand on the show by refusing to cover her naturally pale skin with fake tan.

I love being a redhead, but I do have an issue with fake redheads, because I feel you get all the upside of being feisty but with none of the trauma on the way to it. Emma Stone is not a redhead!” she laughs

Angela Scanlon

And she feels the same about her hair colour, having been on a decade-long mission to tackle bullying around being a redhead – even making a documentary examining why they’re still discriminated against.

“My first-ever documentary was called Oi Ginger! and it was exploring gingerism as the last remaining acceptable prejudice, so I’ve been very defiant about being a redhead.

“There’s no point in me saying to my girls: ‘You have beautiful freckles and gorgeous colouring,’ and not thinking it myself,” she explains. “I have freckles all over my body, and sometimes I’ll do a shoot and they’ll literally airbrush them out, and I think: ‘What?!’

“I love being a redhead, but I do have an issue with fake redheads, because I feel you get all the upside of being feisty but with none of the trauma on the way to it. Emma Stone is not a redhead!” she laughs.

“She is fabulous, though, and she’s doing a lot of heavy lifting for us.”

A self-confessed workaholic, Angela started her career as a stylist, then went into fashion commentary on Irish TV, before moving to London and nabbing presenting roles on Robot Wars, and covering Alex Jones on The One Show.

Now, she fronts BBC2’s Your Home Made Perfect, has her own jewellery brand, frkl. and has recently taken over Graham Norton’s weekend breakfast slot on Virgin Radio.

“I used to beat myself up about my kind of hunger for work. And now I realise I really love it. I have this insatiable desire – but that allows you to progress,” she says. 

“TV wasn’t a world I grew up in – there was no sense of media in my family. I didn’t have an agent in Ireland, and I Googled agents in London blindly and made cold calls. I just had a sense that I could do it and I would do it. But also, there were no expectations – no one was watching me. It’s a competitive industry, so when channelled in the right direction, that drive can be valuable.

“What was more problematic was that I couldn’t enjoy the work I was doing in the moment. I’m someone who, in my mind, goes: ‘Next, next, next, next.’

“I have a bit more perspective now and a bit more patience. I just feel more relaxed and I’m able to enjoy whatever it is, rather than going: ‘OK, that’s it, done.’

“I never properly celebrated or took a pause to acknowledge or enjoy it. Before it was distraction and busyness and validation, and all of those things. Now, there’s more balance.”

Balance came about when Angela became a mother for the first time – although she was blindsided that it wasn’t the picture-perfect version she’d seen on Instagram.

“Nipple infections, pain and exhaustion… People never talk about it,” she says. “I never had a routine. I was feeding and swaddling, then I had to do it again in two hours? Some people clearly adore [looking after a newborn] – but I didn’t believe it. I was convinced they were lying!

“It was also the enormity of having a little human. I wasn’t sure whether I had enough capacity to give her everything I felt she deserved. I think that’s what came to the surface really quickly after she was born.

“While I was pregnant, I was working away and I was quite nervous about how perception would shift. I was trendy, still young, and I thought: ‘If I have a child, does that rule me out [from certain jobs]? Have I worked all this time, and then suddenly, I’m going to be erased?’ That’s a fear, and not just in media,” she says.  

“Many of my friends who work in all sorts of industries have that worry that suddenly there will be a perception that they are not serious any more, they’ve opted out or their priorities have changed.

“Of course, that doesn’t negate the fact that they can be brilliant at their jobs and equally driven, more efficient and effective in many ways. But I guess it’s the unknown, isn’t it?”

Thankfully, the girls have prepped Angela for her early starts on Virgin. “I’m loving it,” she says, grinning. “I’m usually up at that time in the morning, pottering around the kitchen. 

“I’ve spent many years ring-fencing my weekends [from work], but now I don’t mind at all. It’s just a case of slightly shifting. We always go to a little farmers’ market down the road every weekend and I’m still back in time to do that, so that’s good.” 

I’m a big believer in timing. But in hindsight, I had an 18-month-old baby and my pelvic floor, among other parts of my body, were not ready

Angela Scanlon

She credits her husband Roy, who is “brilliant” with their daughters, for making working the weekends so easy. The pair are celebrating their 10-year wedding anniversary this summer – a lifetime for celebrity marriages. So, what’s the secret?

“I think Roy is the yin to my yang. We’re very different. He does indulge me a bit and I tolerate him,” she laughs. “We get along really well and we support each other. We’re just really good.”

And are they going to renew their vows?

“I don’t know where my original dress is – I remember it being in a bag in my mum and dad’s attic. My dad has an awful habit of clearing things out ruthlessly and literally burning everything in a field – I have a feeling that’s what might have happened. I’m absolutely raging when I think about it, so I just can’t!

“But yeah, Roy’s not interested. He’s adamant people only renew their vows when their relationship is in trouble. We’re going to Ibiza instead to celebrate. The kids are staying at home!”

Angela is also embracing her 40s, having hit the milestone birthday last December. “Being 40, there is that acceptance of yourself, good, bad or otherwise,” she says. “I love it. It feels just a bit more chilled.” 

• Listen to Angela Scanlon on Virgin Radio UK, 7am-10am, Saturdays and Sundays.