star has opened up about the toll gruelling rehearsals have had on her body. The former Olympian has swapped her hockey boots for dancing shoes this autumn as she takes to the dancefloor.
Speaking exclusively to , the mum of two shared how training has been going with her professional partner, .
“I’ve never kind of been active for that many hours a day, and when you think about it, even though sometimes it’s the easier parts of the dance and you can walk,” Sam shared.
“But yeah, my body is stiff. I’m using different parts of my body, which is generally used during everyday life. I was an Olympian for eight years and I had two C sections – two kids – I sit on the sofa, probably train twice a week just to keep fit and to keep my mind fresh.
“So, like my fitness is far from probably where people think it is. It’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced.”
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Sam is partnered with Nikita Kuzmin (Image: Getty)
Despite the long hours in the rehearsal studio, Sam admitted that she would do more training if she was allowed to.
“I do more if I could,” she added. “I love it. I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I’m competitive with myself. I want everything to be A1.
“Even with hockey, I would train every day to get better at sessions, but then I need to be managed and Nikita is managing me.”
Last week, the pair performed a Charleston and scored 22 points which put them in eighth place overall on the leaderboard. This Saturday for Movie Week, the duo will dance a Paso Doble to Elevation from Tomb Raider.
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Sam Quek has swapped hockey boots for dancing shoes (Image: BBC/Instagram)
Speaking about her partnership with Nikita, Sam admitted: “He’s brilliant and he’s just what I need when it comes to teaching me how to dance, having the patience and we also get on.
“We can have a laugh and joke and have a similar sense of humour. But we can also sit in silence completely, which is quite nice.
“And he works hard when I need to be worked hard and also he stops me from overthinking too much. I’ve been too hard on myself. I need to have patience.”
resumes on Saturday 5 October on One and iPlayer.