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Kaye Adams has revealed that being voted off Strictly Come Dancing first impacted her mental health.
The Loose Women presenter competed in the BBC series in 2022, and was paired with professional dance partner Kai Widdrington.
But she was in the bottom two couples after the public vote on the programme’s first episode that season, before being ejected by the judges following a dance-off against Bros musician Matt Goss and his partner Nadiyah Bychkova.
Adams, 61, admitted that while she met some “wonderful” people, training was “tough” and the experience of being voted off first was “destabilising”.
Speaking on whether she’d consider entering another reality show such as I’m a Celebrity..., the broadcaster told The Mirror: “I just don’t know if I’m desperate to be judged again in that way.
“You could go in the jungle, you could try your level best, do everything, but you’re voted out first for whatever reason and you just feel like a loser. I don’t think I need that in my life.”
She added that being judged requires you to “emotionally put yourself on the line” and that she would be more tempted to try Celebrity Race Across the World, where there is no voting element.
Adams revealed that her dreams that Strictly might transform her from a “klutz” who’s “uptight about dancing in public” had not quite been realised.
“In retrospect, it was probably naïve to think that you would go on a television show, where you are exposed to a massive audience, and suddenly you would turn into a different personality,” she said. “That was a ridiculous idea and so it proved to be, but I’m not in therapy, it’s all good!”
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However, amid recent allegations of bullying by some dance partners on set, Adams stressed that her experience with Widdrington was nothing but positive.
“Kai was an absolute gentleman from start to finish. I was so pleased to be paired with him and I couldn’t have asked any more of him,” she added.
It follows an apology from the BBC director general after previous celebrity contestants accused two Strictly professional dancers, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, of “gross misconduct”.
The pair will not return for this year’s series following Love Island star Zara McDermott and Sherlock actor Amanda Abbington’s allegations of “absuive” behaviour.
