Strictly Come Dancing star says BBC show is 'more painful than childbirth'

A former contestant has shared that her stint on the BBC ballroom show was a "painful" experience and that she would "rather experience childbirth ten times over." TV presenter , 41, appeared on the dance competition alongside professional dance partner Carlos Gu back in 2023.

Now she has opened up about her experience after finishing the show in sixth place for that year. While chatting to , 37, on their Get a Grip podcast, Angela revealed: "I've had two children without pain relief and would do that ten times over in a day than have raw, bleeding blisters. You have to put the goddamn shoes on and do a Viennese waltz - my heels have never had so much action.

"You put a plaster on and, because you're sweating like a donkey, it falls off. You put socks on with your ballroom shoe, and you're still rub-a-dubbing. You're raw."

Angela left the show in week 10 after failing to impress judges Craig Revel Horwood, 60, Motsi Mabuse, 44, Shirley Ballas, 64, and Anton Du Beke, 58. Her exit came following her Cha-cha-cha performance of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive.

She is not the first celebrity contestant to end up in pain from the show. In the last series, DIY SOS star was forced to undergo two operations after an emotional elimination.

He suffered a bicep injury, which was sustained while changing a tyre, and a knee injury which he incurred while dancing. Nick was eventually forced to pull out of the final due to his knee injury.

"I think it was the right result in the end, and it means I can now get the various bits of me that are falling off sorted out," he shared, having needed a week off ahead of his departure due to injury.

He added: "I might have an operation on the arm this week, then another operation on the knee in a couple of weeks, so I can get myself sorted. I genuinely fell in love with dancing. After I've had my operations, I'm gonna do some more training with Luba (Mushtuk), and I've got important things to do... I'm getting married next year and Luba is gonna help choreograph the first dance."