STRICTLY Come Dancing star Angela Scanlon has spoken openly about her time on the series – admitting the “magical” series was also brutal to get through.
The Irish TV presenter, 40, appeared on the BBC dancing favourite last year, partnered up with professional dancer Carlos Gu.
The pair made it through most of the series, being knocked out of Strictly the week before the quarter-finals.
Regardless, it’s clear the show had a major impact on her – though she noted in a new chat she found the series “hardcore” to get through.
Speaking to Caroline Hirons on the Glad We Had This Chat podcast, Angela said: “Honestly, it was one of the most magical things I’ve ever done.
“I mean, it was hardcore, and I felt like I had been, you know, like a cloth wrung out and, you know, spat out the other side, but, you know, with not that much time, it really… even in the moment, I knew how significant it was, really on a lot of different levels.”
“The reason that I went into it as there have been conversations, like there often are, for a lot of people who do it, and, you know, beforehand and timings and all of those kind of things,” she added. “I really went into it, like, selfishly.”
Adding it was a “personal thing” rather than a “career move, Angela added: “Obviously, there’s, you know, very few shows that give you that amount of exposure and eyes and all of that stuff, so I was aware of that, but it was very much ‘okay, I could go in and be absolutely s**t, and I’m okay with that.’”
When asked by Caroline how she felt when she realised she was capable of being a good dancer, she added: “I don’t know that I ever knew I wasn’t. I have never watched my Exit Dance.”
“So there was a lot of self doubt that came to the surface, a lot of emotions and habits and beliefs that I was kind of aware that are there that I mask a lot of the time, and that sometimes I don’t feel at all,” she admitted.
“I thought, Oh, my God, this is going to be like having a big old therapy session in front of 10 million people.
“I mean, in hindsight, I could have done a privately, but look, it’s more fun!”
Angela and Carlos proved to be a formidable team to go up against on the series, earning the highest score in week three with a staggering 35 out of 40 so early on.
When she landed in the dreaded dance-off, she had to compete against Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin to fight for her place on the show.
She later joked about her exit, with her final dance being to I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, which she noted was “salt in the wound, considering they didn’t”.
She also broke down in tears on It Takes Two as she reflected on her time on the show.
Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach went on to win the series with Vito Coppola, with Layton and Nikita coming in second.
