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Strictly Come Dancing’s Tony Adams aiming to shed light on ‘mental health and addiction awareness’: ‘You can do anything when you’re free’-Stella Akinwumi-Entertainment – Metro
‘We used dance therapy in rehab.’
Tony opened up about his battle with addiction (Picture: Getty/BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing star Tony Adams aims to shed light on mental health and addiction during his upcoming stint on the show.
The 55-year-old retired Arsenal legend will be competing with the likes of X Factor star Fleur East, TV presenter Helen Skelton, singer Matt Goss and EastEnders actor James Bye in this year’s milestone series.
Following the news, Tony said he was ‘absolutely thrilled’ to be giving it ‘his all’ before expressing concern for his dance partner.
The opportunity has been a long time coming for Tony, after he snubbed an offer from the BBC back in 2016 as producers tried to land him for the hit Latin and ballroom competition, but the timing just wasn’t right.
While Tony is ready to wow the audience and the judges with his moves, he also explained how much dance has helped him through dark times.
‘I’m 26 years without drinking and drugs, so I want to bring some mental health and addiction awareness around life and what I do today,’ he told Metro.co.uk and other press.
Tony has battled alcohol and drug addiction (Picture: YouTube)
Strictly seasons starts this Friday (Picture: PA)
‘Dance is all part of the process; we used dance therapy in rehab, and I thought “go for it.”‘
He continued: ‘I had a mental breakdown at 49. My new addiction is working too hard, so now I want to take things after Strictly. You can do anything when you’re free of addiction.’
Tony won 66 caps for England, appeared at four major tournaments, and had 10 major trophy wins whilst is still the only player in English football history to captain a team to three top flight titles over three different decades.
As captain of England, he famously led the national team to the Euro 96 final.
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This year, Strictly will mark the 100th anniversary of the BBC with a special themed week, as well as viewers’ favourite weeks including Movie Week, Halloween Week and the much-loved Musicals Week.
The cast will also finally have a chance to perform at the famous Blackpool Tower Ballroom, having been unable to for the past two years due to the pandemic.
Strictly Come Dancing is set to return on Friday September 23 at 7pm on BBC One with the first live show taking place on Saturday September 24 at 6.45pm on BBC One.
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