When Helen Skelton was first seen on Strictly, she was barely able to walk down the steps, such were her nerves.
Emotionally battered and bruised from her marriage break-up just a few months earlier, the TV presenter was so jittery she found it hard to put one foot in front of the other.
But fast forward 14 weeks and Helen is brimming with glee as she and professional partner Gorka Marquez prepare to compete in the final – without being in the dreaded dance-off once.
So can they lift the glitterball trophy on Saturday? “I feel like we’ve won it already,” she laughs. “The fact that we’re here and we’re smiling and having a good time and we’ve spent all day every day together for the last three months and we’re still laughing and joking.
“I have the biggest bank of marvellous memories and that’s a win for me.”
Helen’s world turned upside down when her nine-year marriage to rugby league player Richie Myler ended in April, just four months after she gave birth to their third child. Daughter Elsie is one this month, while elder son Ernie is seven and his brother Louis is five.
The Countryfile presenter, 39, then had to contend with Myler coupling up with Stephanie Thirkill – the daughter of his multi-millionaire Leeds Rhinos boss – before announcing they were expecting a baby together.
To her credit, she decided to distract herself from all of the heartache by throwing herself wholeheartedly into one of TV’s most demanding shows. And boy, did it work.
Helen now says that her newfound confidence has made not only her, but her entire family, feel happy again.
“Confidence and challenges are all relative but yes, I’ve definitely found my confidence on that dancefloor,” she says, looking wonderfully relaxed.
“And I enjoy it, that’s what it was about. Gorka is clever, he’s never made it about being sexy, it’s about being sassy and powerful and in control. And that’s a wonderful freeing thing for anybody, when they feel in control of their own selves and what they’re doing.
“He kept saying at the beginning ‘just own it’ and I was like ‘I don’t know what you’re on about!’ Now I get it. It’s been wonderfully liberating to be happy in your own skin and your own shoes.”
She says many viewers have sent her messages of support, some also sharing their own heartfelt stories.
“That’s the ultimate humbling thing,” she says. “When you’re in telly, that’s why you do it, because you like connecting with people and being part of things. If one person has thought, ‘oh, I’m going to take on something difficult’ then we’ve done our job.
“That’s the thing that’s kept us going every week.”
This Week on the Farm star Helen says signing up for the ballroom show was also about letting her family know that she was OK.
“That’s why you do it, so that your family is proud of you and happy,” she says. “That’s what you put all the effort in for. They’ve been part of the journey too. Blackpool was a moment I will forever treasure.”
Both Helen and Gorka, who is engaged to radio host Gemma Atkinson, his former Strictly partner with whom he has three-year-old daughter Mia, are thrilled to have avoided the dance-off after being voted straight through by the public every single week. “I’m very grateful,” Helen says.
They also sent chills down spines with their fabulous couple’s choice number earlier this month, in which Helen wore a tiny black dress and oozed old-school glamour as they danced to Liza Minnelli’s sultry Cabaret song Mein Herr.
“Everyone started screaming 10 seconds in and I was like ‘ooh, they’re liking this!’ I’m not a performer so I’ve never had that.”
A TV presenter who has no stage experience whatsoever, Helen says it took a while for the whole competition to make sense to her.
“It’s a weird thing for people to be going mad for something we’re doing,” she says. “Gorka’ll say ‘more’ and I’m like ‘how can I give it more? I’m in a glittery bra and a wig’. He’s always saying ‘dial it up’ and I was like ‘oh, this is what you mean – I get it!’“
Although she’ll soon be back at home on the farm in Yorkshire, Helen said she might keep dancing. She’ll certainly take her new-found confidence back with her to Countryfile, saying other presenters may have been inspired to sign up in the future.
“They see the joy,” she explains. “I think a few of them definitely would.
“I’ve been trying to persuade John Craven, his family would love it.”
On Saturday, Helen and Gorka, 32, have chosen to perform their sassy Cabaret number again while the judges have picked their jive.
Their showdance is “very, very, fast” according to Helen – but Gorka says it’s nothing she can’t handle.
“Helen’s favourites are fast and cheeky and playful so this is the style we’re doing. It shows her journey from day one, when she couldn’t even walk down the stairs, to now, when she’s happier, smilier and more confident.”
*Strictly Come Dancing: The Final, Saturday, BBC1, 7.05pm
