Abbey Clancy ‘hated’ doing Strictly live shows and tour: ‘I would have rather died’

Abbey Clancy ‘hated’ doing the Strictly Come Dancing live tour after winning the show.

The model won the 11th series of Strictly in 2013 with partner Aljaž Škorjanec, and the following year, she performed in venues including London’s O2 Arena and Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena alongside stars including Susanna Reid, Natalie Gumede and Nicky Byrne. 

However, despite winning twice on tour, Abbey was not a fan of the live aspect – nor of the live BBC shows.

The 35-year-old joined husband Peter Crouch and Chic star Nile Rodgers on the first episode of musician Frazer T Smith’s 12 Questions podcast, and opened up about Strictly as they discussed overcoming fear.

Abbey said: ‘When I did Strictly, I loved practising in the rehearsal room, and then when I had to do the live show, I would have rather died, it was that severe.

‘We did a live tour in all the big arenas and I hated it. I hated the crowd cheering me… It was such a bizarre feeling to me. You [Peter] love it, the crowd spur you on and feed you adrenaline. It didn’t work for me.’

The Britain’s Next Top Model star continued: ‘I was on Jonathan Ross and I was sitting next to Stevie Wonder, sitting in silence and he said to me, “Why are you so scared?” He could just feel the energy coming off me in waves.

‘As a child, I was like, look at me, but as I’ve got older, the fear overtakes my ability to do things well.’

Despite her fear of the shows, Abbey beat Susanna Reid, who was partnered with Kevin Clifton, and Natalie Gumede, partnered with Artem Chigvintsev, in the grand final. 

Her waltz with Aljaz was voted one of the top 25 Strictly routines ever by viewers for the BBC’s Christmas countdown. 

The 2013 champ isn’t the only star to have discussed their time on Strictly this month, as Louise Redknapp – who competed on the show in 2016 – has said she regrets signing up.

Louise reached the final with Kevin Clifton, but shortly afterwards, she split from husband Jamie Redknapp after 18 years of marriage.

Writing in her new book, You’ve Got This, Louise said: ‘If I’d done the show four years earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have walked away from my marriage.’

She added that taking part ‘simply wasn’t worth putting anyone I loved or love through the heartache’.

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