Catherine Tyldesley hopes ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ will be "therapeutic" for her.
The former ‘Coronation Street’ actress used to do everything she could to get out of dance classes when she was at theatre school because she was overweight and worried no one would be able to lift her, and though she has gone from a size 22 then to a size 10 now, she still feels "too big" so wants the show to help her overcome her hang-ups and fears.
She said: "I never felt body confident enough to do it. I felt so much bigger than everyone else and I used to think: ‘Who would be able to lift me?’ About 90% of the classes I just didn’t turn up to. Dance wasn’t my thing at all.
"In my head I’m still too big, so I’m hoping [‘Strictly’] will be a bit therapeutic for me. And it might help me break through everything I’m terrified of.
"At the minute it feels like it’s happening to someone else, I’m so far out of my comfort zone. I’m scared of doing a forward roll, so god knows how I’ll cope with the lifts."
The 35-year-old actress – who has four-year-old son Alfie with husband Tom Pitford – is comfortable with her body now and won’t pressure herself to "get any smaller".
She told Fabulous magazine: "I’m not skinny – I’d say I’m an average size. I work out and eat well, and this is as good as it’s going to get. I’m not going to do anything stupid to get any smaller.
"I will never have a six-pack and I’m fine with that. It’s never going to happen. People are usually lovely to me, but I have the odd person calling me fat or too thin. So you can never win.
"I never read comments in the newspapers or on social media – it’s bad for your mental health. My husband loves me the way I am and that’s what’s most important."
Catherine Tyldesley felt too big to dance
