Jamie Borthwick made his debut alongside Michelle Tsiakkas (Image: BBC)
‘s Jamie Borthwick suggested that a health condition is impacting his performance in the competition after his debut dance.
The star, 30, who triumphed in last year’s Strictly Christmas special, took to the stage with Michelle Tsiakkas on Saturday night (September 21).
Their Viennese Waltz to Beautiful Things by Benson Boone earned them a mid-table score of 23 points, placing them halfway up the leaderboard after the first show. Post-performance, host Tess Daly remarked on the number of spins in their routine.
“It didn’t do the vertigo much good,” Jamie confessed. According to the NHS, vertigo gives you a sensation as if you or everything around you is spinning, significantly enough to throw off your balance.
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Jamie scored 23 points for his Viennese Waltz (Image: BBC)
An episode of vertigo can be brief, lasting just a few seconds, or it can persist for hours. In severe cases, the symptoms can continue for days or even months.
The judges appeared to notice Jamie’s struggle with dizziness. Head judge Shirley Ballas observed: “As you were spinning away you looked a little disjointed and imbalanced.”
While Craig Revel Horwood praised Jamie’s energy, the noted the soap star was “a bit jagged throughout”. Earlier in the year, Jamie ahead of running the London Marathon.
The actor, famed for playing Jay Brown on since 2006, ran to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.
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Jamie battles with health anxiety (Image: Getty)
Jamir revealed that his father Simon and his uncle Charlie were both diagnosed with the disease, while his cousin was also going through treatment at the time.
Touching upon his own health battles in an interview with , he said: “I have terrible health anxiety, I’m a massive hypochondriac. Every day, I wake up and go, ‘What’s wrong with me today?'”
The soap star admitted he broke down upon learning of his father’s prostate cancer diagnosis but was relieved when he discovered doctors had caught it early. After a successful surgery, Simon was given the all clear and his uncle has also recovered.
As Simon has battled the disease, it means Jamie is at an increased risk of also being diagnosed. After experiencing bouts of prostatitis – an inflamed prostate – Jamie explained: “I was really worried and health anxiety kicked in because I thought I had prostate cancer. Thankfully, I just had an infection.”