CORONATION Street’s Samia Longchambon has revealed that she weighed less than 7st as she battled extreme anxiety while appearing on Dancing on Ice.
The 38-year-old said that she was filled with nerves and had stopped eating, admitting that she was “running on empty”.
Samia, who appeared on the skating show in 2013, explained that her professional partner and now husband Sylvain Longchambon would give her doughnuts to help boost her low sugar levels during rehearsals.
Speaking on The Capsule in Conversation podcast, she said: “My first week of Dancing on Ice, I weighed just under seven stone. I couldn’t eat anything.
“Sylvian was giving me doughnuts for a bit of sugar because my anxiety was so bad.
“I couldn’t sleep, I was running on empty for the first couple of weeks because I was so nervous.”
The actress, who has plays Maria Connor on the popular ITV soap, has previously been open about her anxiety.
She told listeners that a key piece of advice would be to take life life less seriously.
The TV star added: “Don’t worry so much, chill out. I’ve spent my whole life worrying, I had anxiety from being a child, literally born worrying.”
The actress recently revealed how the less pressured pace of life during lockdown has helped to ease the crippling anxiety she has battled for years.
She had previously struggled with panic attacks, which she describes as “all- consuming”.
Speaking about lockdown, Samia says: “Actually, this period has been OK for me.
“I’ve always preferred a night in to a night out. It takes a lot to get me out to a party, so I was fine with the thought of staying at home.
“But the biggest impact has been on my anxiety, which I have really, really struggled with for a long time.
“I’ve found it’s finally eased while being on lockdown. I’ve had social anxiety most of my life which has been very challenging.
“But I’ve found that now everyone has had to slow down and I don’t have that pressure to attend social events. The bustle of life has lifted.
“I’ve been trying things for years to help and some of it has been good. I do yoga every day and I did a webinar about anxiety yesterday with a clinical psychologist, but this period has really helped me.
“I hope that by talking about it I might be able to assure other people that it’s normal too, and that it’s something you can deal with.
“Although, I’m now going to the supermarket in a mask and gloves so that’s a different sort of anxiety.”
Samia has become one of the ITV soap’s longest-serving stars but explained that she wants her kids to have a normal upbringing.
She said: “I want my kids to have as normal an upbringing as possible. I’ve never been into showbizzy parties and events. I like to stay grounded and this could all end tomorrow.
“I don’t want my life to revolve around going to showbiz events for it to then all end. My filming schedule is very busy but when there’s downtime what I have outside is real.
“Our best friends aren’t famous and the novelty of what I do for a living has totally worn off.”
Samia lives near Manchester with ten-year-old daughter Freya from her previous marriage and son Yves, five, who she shares with her French skater husband, Sylvain, 40.
The couple, who met on the skating show eight years ago, tied the knot in Cheshire in 2016.
