Former star Phil Tufnell has opened up on the ‘challenging’ training regime for the series and says he even saw contestants fainting backstage.
The cricketing legend – who was also crowned King of the Jungle during the 2003 series of – admits nerves reached fever pitch backstage on Strictly and caused contestants to faint.
The sportsman says that while he did have a good experience with professional partner Katya Virshilas when he appeared on the 2009 series, he admits it was still “challenging” – and far scarier than the Australian jungle.
Recalling his time on Strictly, he says: “It was quite hard work. The first couple of shows were like, ‘Oh my life!’ There was nothing like it. I had a spray tan and was wearing a cerise pink shirt, very tight trousers, and Cuban heels. Plus, you’re performing to between 10 and 12 million people live on TV and could potentially make a fool of yourself. The people I was up against were actors who were used to singing and dancing on stage. I also remember people fainting backstage due to nerves. But you do get into it.”
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly host Strictly Come Dancing (Image: BBC)
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In the interview with he says he spent around three or four hours a day training. He said: “But some of the couples were doing at least 10 hours a day. It’s quite an undertaking. Perhaps I should have put in a few more hours of training! The thing that always made me laugh was you’d do your routine, and think you did it well and then see another contestant do it so much better.
“It was a great experience, but I think my time had come when I was voted off the show. I got to go to Blackpool, which was great, but I wasn’t going to get any better by that stage.”
Comparing I’m A Celebrity with Strictly, he said: “They are both very different types of scared. Both were instances of going into the unknown. You’re thrown in at the deep end, out of your comfort zone, you’ve got to get on with people, face challenges and remember these tricky steps. They both have their challenges but when I look back on both of them, I think, what an absolute honour it was to be involved in these shows. I’ll remember them both for the rest of my life.”
Phil Tufnell appeared on Strictly in 2009 (Image: BBC)
His comments come ahead of Strictly 2024’s quarter finals which will see the remaining couples dance to songs from musicals, including and Vito Coppola performing a Charleston to Popular from Wicked; and Dianne Buswell dance a Quickstep to You’re The Top from Anything Goes and and Lauren Oakley spin a Viennese Waltz to Let’s Go Fly A Kite from Mary Poppins.
Only six couples now remain and last week saw ‘ star become the latest to beeliminated after a dance-off against Olympian .
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Phil was crowned King of the Jungle in 2003 (Image: ITV)