Strictly Come Dancing star and former BBC Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton has opened up about 'mum guilt' - and her son asking her to pay him £20 to sleep in his own bed. The Countryfile and radio presenter, who is dancing with Gorka Marquez in this year's BBC contest, has been working judges.
Judge Motsi Mabuse last weekend told her: “I honestly have to say I adore watching you dance. I see you getting stronger and stronger… I know it’s quite early but you are giving me some final vibes.”
Head judge Shirley Ballas added: “Slow and steady always wins the race, I think you are giving us a bit of your soul week after week. You are on the right track.”
But Helen has revealed that Strictly, and her other work commitments, sometimes leave her with feelings of 'mum guilt'. Speaking to Brood Magazine, Helen said: "Every mum I know at some point or another feels ‘Mum guilt.’ They feel guilty if they work too much, or they feel guilty that they don’t work enough, the whole thing is a juggle."
She added: "I don’t think anyone should look at other people’s situations and make assumptions, because I’ve done it myself where I’ve thought ‘gosh she work’s a lot! She must hardly ever see her kids?’
"But then I stop myself because I think, you know what, we’ve all got to buy food."
Talking of her own children, Helen said: "Mine are terrible sleepers, they both like to sleep in my bed which isn’t good, but then other people will be like ‘well that isn’t good?’ Rather than ‘oh that’s nice because they’ll be 18 soon!’ – but it’s survival!
"I got my eldest to sleep in his own bed the other night and he was negotiating a deal and said he would for £20! I was like – ‘I can’t give you £20 a night!’" She joked: "No wonder I’ve had to go back to work!"
Helen has three children, born in 2015, 2017 and 2021.
Speaking about her choice to do Strictly with such a young child, Helen said: "Elsie is only little so she’s not crawling around yet, so she’s little enough to be quite placid and sleep a lot. I think sometimes it’s easy to overthink these things, but when I was asked, it was like ‘You know what, yes! Let’s do it!’"
And Helen revealed she uses a 'distraction box' as a parenting hack, explaining it started when Louis was born: "I will put a couple of snacks in that he would like, a couple of books, or some little cheap toys in there. So then if you’re feeding or changing the baby and your older one wants you too and you can say ‘Go and get something from your box!’ I think that’s it!"
Helen has revealed the ‘biggest challenge’ for her while competing in Strictly Come Dancing will be “physical closeness” with her professional dance partner because she is not “touchy feely”.
Asked what she thought would be the biggest challenge, she said: “I’m not that touchy feely, so I think the physical closeness I’ll need to have with my partner will take a bit of getting used to!”.
Helen has become a familiar face on TV, presenting various shows throughout her career including BBC’s Countryfile, Newsround and Blue Peter. She has also worked on several major sporting events and was recently announced as the new host of the new-look BBC Radio 5 Live Sunday morning show.
The TV star said of wanting to do Strictly: “I just wanted to do something fun! It was a good chance for my family to see me smiling and it’s a fun adventure.
“Anybody who’s had anything to do with Strictly will say, the make-up people are the best, the costume people are the best, the set designers are the best, the dancers are the best.
“So why wouldn’t you want to do something where everyone is literally at the top of their game and loving what they do?”.
During her time at Blue Peter, she took on various challenges including completing the Namibia Ultra Marathon, cycling to the South Pole and kayaking more than 2,018 miles down the Amazon River.
She has also published a number of books including the novel Amy Wild: Amazon Summer.
Skelton said she welcomed being ‘Strictly-fied’ adding: “I am here for it! I have three children under seven, a very energetic dog and have lived in a house renovation for the best part of three years, so Strictly-fy me up please!”.
In April, she revealed on Instagram that she and husband Richie Myler, whom she married in December 2013, were “no longer a couple”.
