Kaye Adams has reflected on her Strictly Come Dancing debut, admitting that it was the scariest moment of her entire life and career.
The Loose Women star, 59, revealed that she was riddled with nerves and self-doubt as her debut approached, and when it came to finally hitting the dance floor, Kaye had never felt as nervous in all her years on live television.
Lifting the lid on her Strictly nerves on the latest episode of her podcast, How To Be 60, Kaye said that the only other time her nerves got the better of her in her career was when she interviewed former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
"It was such a scary, scary, experience and I was trying to think when in my career had I ever been so scared," Kaye told.
"The one other time was when I interviewed Margaret Thatcher when I was 24. I remember I was so nervous that I wanted to be sick. But obviously Strictly is at the other end of the scale.
"Because it was that opening number, I was supposed to look like some bloody ballroom vamp, all I could think in my head was this looks like 'grab a granny night' and I just couldn't get it out of my head."
Despite her nerves and insecurities, Kaye was cheered on by her Loose Women pals Jane Moore and Nadia Sawalha who told Kaye to 'get a grip' and remove herself from her insecurities.
"My good friends Jane and Nadia snapped me back to reality. They were telling me to get a hold of myself and telling me to shut up."
It comes after Kaye admitted that she stepped too far 'out of her comfort zone' before her debut dance on the BBC show.
The Loose Women star also revealed that she picked up a 'wee groin strain' following her Tango with professional dance partner Kai Widdrington on her Strictly debut.
Kaye and Kai impressed on the dancefloor during Strictly Come Dancing's big live return, getting a score of 21 from the judges and winning compliments from viewers watching at home, with one writing on social media at the time: "Amazing tango @kayadams you looked fantastic! Such a hard dance in week 1."
Looking back on her performance, Kaye said: "I have never ever danced before. I know people say 'out of my comfort zone' very lightly. But boy, that was so far out of my comfort zone it was unbelievable."
"There just comes a moment where you either lock yourself in the bathroom or you get out there and do it."
The Scottish TV presenter added: "I have got a wee groin strain but you don't want to hear about that. That is TMI.
"It is a mental challenge I would say more than everything else, and then you've got the emotional challenge on top of it which is: 'Do I look like a 59-year-old sack of potatoes?' which was going through my head."
*Strictly Come Dancing 2022's is on BBC One every Saturday night from 6.45pm
