Strictly speaking, the star admitted contestants ‘passed out backstage’ during the series | Television and Radio

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Phil Tufnell has opened up about his ‘challenging’ workout regime. BBC series and says he even saw contestants pass out backstage.

The cricket legend, who was also crowned King of the Jungle in the 2003 series I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! – admits nerves reached fever pitch backstage on Strictly and contestants fainted.

The athlete says while he had a good experience with professional partner Katya Virshilas when he appeared on the 2009 series, he admits it was still “challenging” – and much scarier than the Australian jungle.

Recalling his time on Strictly, he says: “It was quite hard work. The first few performances were like, “Oh, my life!” There was nothing like that. I was tanned, wearing a cherry pink shirt, very tight trousers and Cuban shoes. Plus, you’re speaking in front of 10-12 million people live on television and potentially making a fool of yourself. The people I encountered were actors who were used to singing and dancing on stage. I also remember people fainting backstage due to nerves. But you get into it.

In an interview with Bethway he says he spent about three or four hours a day training. He said: “But some couples worked out for at least 10 hours a day. This is quite a difficult task. Perhaps I should have put in a few more hours of training! , and you think you did it well, and then you see another participant doing it much better.

“It was a great experience, but I think my time came when I was eliminated from the show. I had to go to Blackpool, which was great, but I wasn’t going to get any better at that point.”

Comparing I’m a Celebrity to Strictly, he said: “They’re both very different types of fear. Both were cases of leaving into the unknown. you need to get along with people, overcome difficulties and remember these difficult steps. They both have their problems, but when I look back at both of them, I think it was such an honor to be a part of those shows. Both of them for the rest of my life.”

His comments come ahead of the Strictly 2024 quarter-finals, which will see the remaining couples dance to songs from musicals including Sarah Headland and Vito Coppola performing Charleston’s “Popular” from Wicked; Chris McCausland and Diane Buswell dance the quickstep to the song You’re The Top from Anything Goes and JB Gill and Lauren Oakley spin a Viennese waltz to “Let’s Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins.

There are now only six couples left, and last week they saw EastEnders‘star Jamie Borthwick be the last one eliminated after a dance challenge with an Olympian Montell Douglas.

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