Steps star Claire Richards has spoken of her symptoms of heart palpitations, pounding in her neck and anxiety, which started while she was taking part in The Masked Singer last Octobert. Claire has described the symptoms as 'horrendous'.
Speaking to the Mirror Claire, 45, said: “This last year has been a weird one. I started getting perimenopause symptoms and I was like, ‘Hold on a second, I don’t like this’.
“When I was doing The Masked Singer, the anxiety was horrendous. I was having the worst palpitations, pounding through my neck. I didn’t feel I could give it my best at all.”
She said fear and denial prevented her from seeking treatment until the symptoms got so bad she struggled to leave her home. Claire said: “You kind of feel like you’re shrivelling up from the inside out. It took me a long time to address it. It’s a milestone, isn’t it?
“I’m not an angry person at all, but you can feel it rising. My husband knows I’m going through something and he’s been really patient.”
Claire now uses an HRT oestrogen spray to combat symptoms such as hot flushes and mood changes.
She praised TV presenter Davina McCall for driving menopause awareness and said that working on her new solo album, Euphoria – which features covers of female music icons who helped shape her career – had also helped give her back her identity.
She added: “I’m definitely feeling more like myself. It must be the HRT starting to work.”
- Euphoria is out on August 25
