Louise Redknapp has candidly opened up about her time on Strictly Come Dancing, admitting that she was so terrified that she asked her agent to pull her from the show
Louise Redknapp has candidly discussed her private struggles during her time on Strictly Come Dancing and even how she tried to have her agent pull her from the show.
The former Eternal singer opened up about how her break from the spotlight and role as a mother took a toll on her self-esteem, particularly when she entered the BBC hit dance contest in 2016.
Louise admitted feeling out of her element upon her return to the limelight, contrasting her previous status as one of the '90s most alluring women with her discomfort among the younger, sequin-clad competitors as reported in the Mirror.
On the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast, Louise got real about how motherhood and time away impacted her confidence: "I realised having the kids and being away from the industry really had taken away my jazz hands and disappeared. I was like 'where are they?'".
She spoke of her diminished natural confidence and growing fears over the years, noting: "I think [I had] muscle memory for dance, but not muscle memory for being in the limelight. I think that part had gone. The fear had come in and I think when I was younger, I was completely fearless. I gave everything a go."
Louise also confessed that observing other female stars embrace their glitzy show attire spurred insecurities within her.
"That element of confidence and fearlessness – that had gone. Walking down that opening show and seeing, like, some of the other females in the show and they had their little dresses on and they were so confident."
Louise opened up about how her self-esteem was so shattered that she even considered faking an injury to escape the first live show of Strictly.
"I was looking at the other girls and they were shaking their bums and I literally came off the first show, rung my agent and went 'You've got to get me out of here. This week you can pretend I've broken an ankle'," she shared.
"Week one comes, I'm at the top of the stairs, all the other girls have got a sparkly little outfit on, little knickers, high heels. I have got white jazz shoes and a sailors outfit in red. I was thinking 'I am definitely not the sexiest woman of the decade anymore in this'."
Despite her initial apprehension, Louise danced her way to an impressive runner-up position, just behind BBC Sport's Ore Oduba. However, less than a year after her Strictly success, her marriage to former footballer Jamie ended.
The couple, parents to two boys, parted ways in 2017 after almost 20 years of marriage. Discussing the intense media attention post-divorce, Louise admitted that the wave of negative comments made it even harder to cope.
She expressed that if it weren't for her sons Charley and Beau, overcoming the difficulties would have been much tougher.
At the time, she hit rock bottom, admitting: "I think for me, the lowest, pretty much a person could get to, just horrendous,". "I could never see a way out from how bad and low I felt at the time. If I didn't have my kids, I think I would've just given up, like I really do. I think I just knew that my kids were my everything and they needed me."
On a more positive note, Louise has recently started a new chapter in her love life and is currently being linked to businessman Drew Michael, with the romance reportedly blossoming towards the end of 2023.
