Entertainment
Strictly star says she was in a ‘bad place’ while suffering from eating disorders for 15 years-Laura Harman-Entertainment – Metro
The star spoke candidly about her past eating disorders.
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Angela Scanlon has opened up about her battle with anorexia and bulimia in a candid interview on Loose Women.
The Irish presenter, 40, ‘popped her Loose Women cherry’ by appearing on the talk show for the very first time on Tuesday.
Speaking to the panel, the broadcaster opened up about suffering from eating disorders for 15 years.
Angela reflected that she struggled ‘for 15 years, from my late teens or early 20s’ and said she was in a ‘bad place.’
‘It can sometimes feel really bleak. It’s not spoken about very often and it can be very secretive, it’s not very obvious,’ she told the hosts.
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‘Often they go in cycles, It’s not necessarily one or the other,’ she said explaining that she suffered from different eating disorders, both bulimia and anorexia.
The presenter was a key contestant in the dance competition in 2023 (Picture: PA)
Angela spoke openly on the talk show (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Angela has previously spoken about her former eating disorders and told The Times: ‘Ultimately you get to a point where you’re so sick of yourself, you think, ‘I really don’t want to be like this, there must be an alternative.’ It’s only then you start the glorious digging out. But in order to let go of these things that have been your anchor you need to have something else to hold on to.”’
She said on Loose Women that she was only able to come out of the other side of the illness after a revelation from a friend.
‘For me, one of the turning points was a friend of mine, who also suffered, saying “we are just going to have this forever.” And to her, it felt like a comforting, support in numbers. But for me, I really kicked against that notion of having to stay in that very small space for a long time.’
Angela chatted candidly with the hosts of Loose Women (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Rex/Shutterstock)
The radio presenter added that she wants to speak about her past struggles because she wants to help people feel less hopeless and that eating disorders don’t have to define you forever.
‘I felt really passionately to speak about it because I think I was quite afraid to speak about it for a really long time. I think I was afraid that it’d define me,’ she said on the daytime TV show.
The presenter was a contestant in Strictly last year (Picture: PA)
Angela now has released a book where she candidly speaks about her experiences and uses her platform as a way to inspire others.
The former Strictly contestant who was paired with professional partner Carlos Gu in last year’s competition, also spoke briefly about ‘having a ball’ in the competition.
‘Honestly, it was so much fun!’ she said as she joked about her sultry tango on the show: ‘I still watch it on YouTube on down days I’m like “yep, still got it!”’
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