Helen reached the Strictly final in 2022(Image: Helen Skelton Instagram)
BBC Morning Live’ presenter Helen Skelton has revealed she ‘tried to leave’ Strictly Come Dancing over hitting a ‘massive wall’ on the dancing competition.
The former Blue Peter presenter is best known for presenting Morning Live alongside Gethin Jones, the magazine programme that airs on weekday mornings between 9.30 am and 10.45 am on BBC One.
Launched in 2020, the series features celebrity interviews and offers advice to viewers from experts. Fans have adored seeing Helen and Gethin’s onscreen friendship blossoming before their eyes.
Back in 2022, Helen competed on the twentieth series of Strictly, where she was taught the art of dance by professional dancer Gorka Marquez. Just months before taking part, Helen confirmed that she and her rugby league player husband Richie Myler had separated.
Tying the knot in 2013, Helen and Richie welcomed their first child, a son, into the world in 2015. The second son was born in 1017 before they had a daughter in late 2021, months before Helen announced their split.
Appearing on the latest episode of Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast, Helen revealed that during the early weeks of Strictly she felt ‘terrified’.
“I tried to leave. I ran and hid on the fire escape, and they filmed Strictly next to The Crown, and there’s a massive wall. I kid you not, I was looking at the wall and thinking, ‘I could get over that’,” she recalled.
Thankfully, a member of the production team persuaded her to return to the studio, where Gorka delivered some crucial words of encouragement to help her continue with the hit series.
“I remember he said to me: ‘It’s like jumping out of a plane, you’ve got to engage the parachute’. He was so wonderful,” she noted.
Helen and Gorka managed to make it all the way to the final, which was won by Wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal, where they received a perfect score of 40 from the judges for their Cabaret-themed Couple’s Choice routine.
“By the final, I’ve gone from hiding on the fire escape, being terrified to look at the dance floor, to just freestyling. Even all the professionals were crying laughing. They were like, ‘Who are you?'” she said.
When it comes to Strictly coinciding with the fallout of her eight-year marriage coming to an end, the Countryfile host was adamant that her personal life wouldn’t affect how she fared on the dance floor.
“A few people said if you’d have just cried and gone on about what was going on, you might have won it… My friends were just like, ‘Just do it. Just do it. It’s going to swallow you up. Just do it. Like, there’s so many people talking about you,” she noted.
Previously appearing on Lorraine, Helen addressed criticism she received from some Strictly fans for potentially having an advantage due to her childhood tap-dancing background.
“I found it so funny when they said it was a fix — Helen’s a tap-dancing champion. When I was seven, yes, I did tap dancing. Like lots of little girls and boys, I did dancing and absolutely loved it. I hit an age where I didn’t want to be in a leotard in public and I gave it up. I wish I hadn’t,” she joked to Lorraine Kelly.
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