Laura Whitmore stopped going out so she didn’t have to talk about ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 31-year-old presenter wasn’t allowed to tell anyone she had signed up to take part on the show so ended up cutting herself off from her pals so she wouldn’t be tempted to spill the beans.
She admitted: "It was really hard. I always wanted to do the show. We had the conversation at the start of the year and the only person I could tell was my mum.
"It was in the papers that I was rumoured to be doing it, which made it even harder.
"I was at this lunch that Tess Daly was at – I’d never met her before – and someone shouted, ‘Are you doing ‘Strictly’, Laura?’ and I was like, ‘No’.
"Then because I find it really hard to lie, I felt I couldn’t see people. I just had to stay in to avoid them."
While Laura – who is partnered with Giovanni Pernice on the show – was excited about being on the programme, she was very afraid of having to do lifts.
She explained: "My fear was the lifts. I didn’t know how anyone was going to lift me. I’m all arms and legs. You have to learn to contain yourself."
The blonde beauty has a number of friends, including Alesha Dixon, Caroline Flack, Mark Wright and Pixie Lott, who have previously competed on the show so has been getting tips from them.
She told HELLO! magazine: "Everyone says you just have to work really hard and use the time to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse – so that’s what I’m doing.
"Daisy Lowe is a good friend so we can share the experience."
Laura Whitmore refused to go out to stop Strictly Come Dancing gossip
