Strictly Come Dancing star Helen Skelton was overcome with emotion on Saturday night's show on BBC One as she shared with her dance parker Gorka Marquez how she feels she's become "a different person" since starting the show. Recalling her "best performance yet" in Blackpool last weekend, which saw her and Gorka received a nine and three tens, she said: "The reaction was one of those moments I will never forget, but the best reaction was from my dad. He was so happy and so proud and he just looked at me and was like 'Oh, you seem like you again!'"
Cutting to the dance rehearsals this week, in which she and Gorka were preparing for the samba, Helen was seen telling the Spanish professional dancer in a VT: "I definitely am a different person from when we started. And I think for me, what has been... sorry, I'm really sorry." After become tearful and struggling to continue her sentence, Gorka pulls her in for a hug.
Read more: Helen Skelton's Strictly 'snub' to Gorka Marquez in Blackpool picked up by microphones
She continued: "I think even you would say I'm a different person from day one, right?" Gorka agreed before Helen said: "I thought it was just dancing. It is so much more than that."
Later on, after the pair had performed their samba to Eso Beso by Emma Bunton, Helen's "new-found confidence" was admired by most of the esteemed judging panel, which consists of Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel-Horwood.
Anton remarked: "I've got Helen Skelton coming out to play! Thank you very much!" While head judge Shirley said proudly: "You know sometimes for me the personality can be larger than life. Self-belief is a major key to life. And I've watched you from the very beginning and I see you come out this evening with this new found confidence and this beautiful personality with Gorka." She then went on to disagree with some of Craig's criticisms regarding dance technique.
This 'new-found confidence' comes just weeks after the judges encouraged Helen to have more belief in herself on the dancefloor. Following these comments, Gorka issued a heartfelt speech after the dance to the mother-of-three, who had been having a "difficult time" recently after the revelation that the 39-year-old's estranged rugby star husband Richie Myler was expecting a baby with his new partner just six months after the couple announced their separation.
Gorka - who is currently engaged to former Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson, with whom he shares a three-year-old daughter - said: "Can I just say something? I know you have been having a difficult time and I know you've been made to feel like you're not beautiful, or good enough, or anything but if you don't believe in yourself, I believe in you. Everybody here believes in you. Your family. It doesn't matter how many times I say or the judges say it or anybody says it, it's only you [who] is the one that's going to make the change and the one who needs to believe in you because you are an amazing woman, very inspirational, an amazing mum and incredible dancer. So believe in you, please."
Following tonight's performance, viewers quickly took to social media to praise the Countryfile presenter on her dancing and stunning confidence. User @parmacorderoyy wrote: "Helen is my winner she has grown in confidence and deserves to win #Strictly", while @selenay said: "Aw, Helen looks so happy and I’m delighted #Strictly has been so good for her. And given how hard samba is, I thought she did really well here."
Meanwhile @RachelCDailey commented: "The change in Helen’s confidence and attitude has been wonderful to watch #scd #Strictly."
Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday, December 3, on BBC1.
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