‘I wasn’t sure I could even continue the show’: Kym Marsh admits she almost quit Strictly Come Dancing after suffering a debilitating panic attack just hours before going live
- Strictly Come Dancing’s Kym Marsh has spoken out about the debilitating panic attack she experienced during rehearsals
- Her anxiety halted her training run with her professional partner Graziano Di Prima, who comforted her as she broke down in tears
- Despite hitting the dance floor hours later for a live performance, she reportedly considered quitting the show
Strictly Come Dancing’s Kym Marsh has spoken out about the debilitating panic attack she experienced during rehearsals that punctuated her training session with professional partner Graziano Di Prima.
The 46-year-old TV star is said to have broken down in tears before she was comforted with his toes by star Graziano, 28, before a live show that aired last month.
Former Coronation Street actress Kym, who is said to have considered quitting the competition because of her overwhelming fear, told The Sun: “It just came over me, almost out of nowhere, and I couldn’t go on.”
Anxious: Strictly Come Dancing’s Kym Marsh has spoken out about the debilitating panic attack she experienced during rehearsals
It is claimed that Kym struggled to keep dancing, prompting producers to comfort her as she calmed down, and hours later she got back on the floor during the live show and completed her dance.
Former Hear’Say singer Kym added, “I’ve always suffered from panic attacks. It’s something I like to talk about because I know it can happen to anyone at any time.
“Sometimes it’s been ages (since an attack) and suddenly someone just hits.
Tough times: The TV star, 46, is said to have broken down in tears before being comforted by star Graziano, 28, before a live show that aired last month
“Everyone thinks that because you’re on TV you have to be amazingly confident, but the truth is I’m not always that, and that’s how it comes out.”
She added that she didn’t know what triggered the panic attack and suspected she may have had some harsh comments from the judges related to the fact that she also had other jobs, leaving her emotional and exhausted.
Kym said she “completely lost her confidence” and was “gone to pieces,” admitting she didn’t see how she could continue with the show.
Despite undergoing therapy to curb her anxiety, Kym said it can still “creep up” on her.
Kym expressed her gratitude to the cast and crew members who stepped in to comfort her, but said they had to cancel rehearsals at the time.
A viewer previously told The Sun of Kym’s panic attack: “She was very upset, she just couldn’t stop crying and hyperventilating.
“In the end we had no choice but to stop rehearsals.”
Kym was rehearsing the quickstep to Sweet’s 1973 song Ballroom Blitz, which she performed on an earlier episode of the BBC show.
Sources told the newspaper there was concern she might not be able to perform while suffering from her anxiety, but she managed to complete her dance and was chosen to perform next week.
Speaking of which, former Coronation Street actress Kym, who is said to have considered quitting the competition, told The Sun: “It just came over me, almost out of nowhere.”