'I was on Strictly but wanted to leave the second I stepped foot on set'

ملخص مفصل

He continued: "Guess what's different? I was doing a cha-cha-cha and I absolutely s**t myself. I remember genuinely saying to Camilla, when I heard them welcome us, I want to…

Over the years, hundreds of contestants have taken to the dancefloor on Strictly Come Dancing, with many likely experiencing first-time nerves as they step out in front of the cameras. BBC presenter Gethin Jones was no exception when he joined the show for its fifth series in 2007. Paired with professional dancer Camilla Dallerup, who was a professional dancer on Strictly from its launch in 2004 until 2008, Gethin quickly discovered that the competition was unlike anything he had experienced before. At the time, Gethin was best known for presenting the long-running children's television programme Blue Peter, having landed the role two years earlier.

He admitted that he initially felt relatively at ease as, back then, Strictly was filmed at the BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, in the same location where he regularly presented Blue Peter.

However, that confidence soon faded when he realised that performing a cha-cha was a very different challenge from presenting a children's television show.

"I remember doing Strictly for the first time, and it was done in exactly the same studio as Blue Peter, where I was working every day," Gethin told the Daily Express.

"I was doing the same journey in, seeing the same people as you walk in, same environment, same changing rooms, everything."

He continued: "Guess what's different? I was doing a cha-cha-cha and I absolutely s**t myself. I remember genuinely saying to Camilla, when I heard them welcome us, I want to leave.

"I literally wanted to leave. But she grabbed my hand, and the next two and a half minutes of my life were a complete blur."

Despite his initial nerves, Gethin soon began to find his feet on the dancefloor.

"I genuinely thought it was brilliant when I was doing it," he recalled. "I genuinely thought in my head halfway through, I'm nailing this. This could be the first 10 in week one ever."

مطلع المقال، مقتطف من Daily Express. لقراءة المقال كاملًا، افتحه على موقع الناشر.