Tyler West has revealed his ‘obsesssion’ with his body image prior to Strictly
(Picture: PA Media)Strictly Come Dancing star Tyler West has revealed that he had a secret battle with his body image which left him gym-obsessed and constantly comparing his looks to that of others.
The Kiss FM presenter, 26, said: "I used to compare myself to others on Instagram and look at myself and say ‘that’s not good enough’ so my gym obsession before wasn’t necessarily just for health and fitness.
“It was because I wanted to look a certain way. It got a bit out of hand."
West, who is currently competing in the BBC One ballroom series with dance partner Dianne Buswell, 31, said starring in the show has left him feeling the "happiest" he’s ever been with his body.
He credits his new found happines to losing weight and eating properly during the intense nine-hour rehearsals.
He added to MailOnline: "Before I started the competition I weighed 104kg and now I weigh about 97kg. I am lighter on my toes, lighter all round. I feel like a whippet.
"The show is so intense and so much work goes into each routine. It has made me think differently towards body image.
"I used to have problems with body image."
He continued: "So now coming onto the show I’ll be honest with you there have been some days where I literally cannot eat enough calories.
"It has taught me not to take things so seriously and loosen up a bit because I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been in terms of that stuff."
He said of dance-pro Buswell: "Dianne is Australian and says she’s a feeder.
“She’s always feeding me and brings a little snack station to every training session, which I love.”
He added: "Sometimes we have healthy snacks but we have our little sweet treats as well, but she’s been a massive influence with all of this because when it comes to social media.
“I just need to loosen up and learn not to take it all so seriously."
Wise, who also ran the London marathon last month, is performing the Tango to the Doctor Who theme tune on Saturday night to celebrate 100 years of the BBC.
The other contestants will also be hitting the dancefloor to iconic BBC theme tunes, including Tony Adams performing the Cha Cha to the Grandstand Theme.
Former Blue Peter presenter, Helen Skelton doing a Charleston to the children’s show’s theme song.
