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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

Helen Skelton says Strictly 'made her remember who she is' after marriage split

Helen Skelton revealed that Strictly Come Dancing helped build her confidence after her split with Richie Myler.

The 39-year-old announced the end of her eight-year marriage to the rugby player in April last year.

On Friday, Helen appeared on Loose Women and discussed her Strictly journey and how her professional dance partner Gorka Marquez helped her remember 'who I am'.

"In the first few weeks I didn't know how to own it and be sexy and sassy but then it got easier," she said.

"Then I stopped questioning it and I just stopped caring less. I was conscious it would be over in the blink of an eye so I just gave it my all."

She then talked about her sexy cabaret routine which had her wearing black lingerie and stocking.

Her stint on Strictly boosted her confidence (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Fans loved the routine and even called it a 'revenge' dance.

She explained: "The cabaret routine was about being fierce and powerful and that's my version of sexy.

"It made me remember who I am this show. By the end, I wasn't thinking 'oh my god' I just wanted to have a good time."

The Countryfile presenter shares Ernie, seven, Louis, five, and baby Elsie, one, with her ex Richie.

Meanwhile, Richie is expecting his first child with his girlfriend Stephanie Thirkill, 32.

Earlier this year, ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing live tour, she paid tribute to Gorka before she 'swapped' dance partners – as Helen now dances with Kai Widdrington on the BBC show's tour.

Taking to Instagram in a sweet post, the television presenter dubbed her former Strictly Come Dancing partner her ‘wingman’.

She said Gorka helped her remember 'who she is' (BBC/Guy Levy)
Fans loved her routines on Strictly, with some calling a specific one a 'revenge' dance (@helenskelton/Instagram)

She said that she wanted to show her ‘appreciation’ to the professional dancer as she posted a highlights video of her time on the show and wrote: "As the frozen Princess said LET IT GO. but before I do, I’m posting this flash back to the strictly final for three reasons: one it’s taken me this long to work out the drop box/video clip situation."

Moving onto her former dance partner Gorka, Helen continued: "Two: there’s about to be a whole lot of strictly tour spam that doesn’t involve @gorka_marquez and I need to mark this chapter with an acknowledgement and appreciation of my wingman.

"Three: These are memories that make me smile and sometimes it takes a couple of weeks of hindsight to really appreciate what went down on and off the dance floor."

After tagging many of her Strictly co-stars in the post, Helen concluded by writing: "You are all just phenomenal!!!!! So so much love for you lot! Can’t wait for you to go around the country and get all the appreciation of the nation that you all deserve!!"

* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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