Singer Louise Redknapp - now known as simply Louise - has said that she found it difficult to appear on the show as she was unnerved by the other celebrity competitors
Former pop sensation Louise Redknapp candidly spoke about her mental struggles during her stint on the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, revealing that she even considered pulling out of the line-up.
Now going simply by 'Louise', the 50-year-old former Eternal singer shared on the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast how her time away from the spotlight as she raised her children impacted her upon her return to fame when she joined the dancing show in 2016.
Louise expressed that stepping back into celebrity life left her feeling disconcerted, especially alongside younger contestants donning glamorous attire, which was quite a shift from being crowned the sexiest woman of the 90s.
Speaking with Mark Wogan, she said: "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?'"
Louise expanded on her feeling of displacement saying: "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."
Mentioning the loss of her former confidence, she continued: "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."
In a striking admission, Louise disclosed that her wavering self-assurance led her to contemplate fabricating a severe injury through her agent as an excuse to dodge the first live show of Strictly, reports Devon Live.
She exclaimed: "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'.
"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'."
Not long after her stint on Strictly, Louise Redknapp's marriage to ex-footballer Jamie Redknapp crumbled. The pair, parents to two children, parted ways in 2017 following 19 years of marriage.
Louise spoke about how her public figure status led to an overwhelming barrage of vitriol that exacerbated her post-divorce struggles. She emphasized that her ordeal would have been insufferable without the presence of her sons Charley and Beau, who gave her the strength to persevere.
She shared candidly: "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."
Currently, Louise has found love again with businessman Drew Michael, with whom she has been romantically involved since late-2023.
