LOVE split Helen Skelton has revealed that she signed up to Strictly so her family could see her smiling again.
The Countryfile presenter, 39, was left shattered when her husband Richie Myler ended their eight-year marriage in April, four months after their third child was born.
Helen Skelton signed up to Strictly so her family could see her smiling again
Helen’s husband Richie Myler ended their eight-year marriage in April
Now speaking ahead of tonight’s glittering launch show, Helen said: “I just wanted to do something fun.
“It was a good chance for my family to see me smiling and it’s a fun adventure.
“Anybody who’s had anything to do with Strictly will say, the make-up people are the best, the costume people are the best, the set designers are the best, the dancers are the best.
“So why wouldn’t you want to do something where everyone is literally at the top of their game and loving what they do?”
Helen is now juggling training with caring for her three children Ernie, seven, Louis, five and baby Elsie.
It means she’s especially keen to enjoy the pampering on offer.
She laughed: “I have three children under seven, a very energetic dog and have lived in a house renovation for the best part of three years, so Strictly-fy me up please.
“It takes me back to my Blue Peter days, it was an all-consuming show where every minute of the day you were doing something for it. You’d get into the office having been away for three weeks and someone had been round to your house to pack your bags to go on your next trip.
“I feel like this will be all consuming as well, but I’ve lived that life before and I naively think I might be ready for it.”
Celebrity pals Dan Walker and Ore Oduba have told Helen she can call them anytime.
And she’s got a little previous dance experience to fall back on.
Helen said: “Ore still talks about what a transformative experience it was in his life, he makes me laugh, all these years on and he is still talking about it! Dan said it was the most fun he had ever had.
“When I was a kid I tap-danced, but that’s it.
OH BOY
I’m trolled for dressing my son like a girl - there's nothing wrong with his clothes
“Slow, calm, considered and measured dancing is not me.”
And she added of her signature move: “It was the splits for a long time, and then I tore my hamstring and I’ve never been able to do it since!”
- Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC1 tonight at 7pm.
