Strictly's Angela Scanlon shares reality of rehearsals amid 'overwhelming' experience

She has experienced the delights and dangers of Strictly Come Dancing first hand, and now Angela Scanlon is warning headline-making stars like Thomas Skinner to “keep their head down” if they want to enjoy the competition.

Angela, 41, waltzed through the 2023 series with professional Carlos Gu, making it all the way to Week 10. Having managed to avoid being swept up in a Strictly scandal during that time, she has offered her advice on how to handle the intense spotlight that comes with the show.

“It’s a noisy show – people are interested in it,” she told the Mirror. “They care about it deeply, and my advice, for what it’s worth, is to just keep your head down and focus on the dancing. Do your very best and try to block out as much of the noise as possible. People will have opinions – good, bad and indifferent – and it doesn’t matter.

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“Most of the people who are involved will have had it from one side or another at one point, and they by and large know how to handle it, but I’d just say, ‘Focus on your jive, babe.’”

One star who has already felt the scrutiny that comes with Strictly is former Apprentice star Skinner. The 34-year-old was forced to come clean about his affair with an aesthetician just weeks after his wedding to Sinéad Chambers, while The Mirror later revealed that he had failed to pay back a £50,000 Covid bounce back loan for his mattress company Bosh Beds.

This year’s line-up has proved to be controversial, with some fans unhappy with Skinner’s pro-Trump tweets and others critical of Emmerdale star Lewis Cope’s previous dance experience. But Angela says BBC bosses have “done a great job” on this year’s cast.

“I think there’s always speculation around the line-up, every year,” she says. “People are either too famous or not famous enough or they’re from reality TV. People have things to say, but I think mostly you’ll find brilliant personalities and a really gorgeous cross-section of people from lots of different walks of life – different opinions, different life experiences, different age groups. It feels like a very varied bunch. I think they’ve done a great job.”

Angela is not only cheering on her former professional partner Carlos Gu, who is dancing with breakout star Karen Carney, but also her podcast co-host Vicky Pattison. The TV presenter admits she didn’t know how much to tell Vicky, who is dancing with Kai Widdrington, about the physical and mental challenges of the show.

“It’s a bit like how people talk about childbirth,” she says. “How much is too much to share? Sometimes you’re projecting your own experience on to somebody, but they may have a completely different capacity and approach and response to the same experience.

“She’s got a different partner. It’s hard to imagine what her experience will be. I just said, ‘Prep your feet, get into them bloody heels early so you get used to them. Get your feet ready for a battering.’ When you’re in the middle of it, it can feel quite overwhelming but I’m trying to remind her to stay in it and enjoy it. It’s a juicy experience and you want to be enjoying every single bit of it.”

Angela will be watching the show with her daughters Ruby Ellen, seven, and Marnie Fae, three, who she shares with husband Roy Horgan, a tech entrepreneur.

“I watched the launch show with my girls and we put the fire on, had a little Maple Hazel hot chocolate, popcorn, blankets on,” she said. “It does feel like we’re on the home stretch to Christmas.”

But Angela admits she does miss the structure that came with being on Strictly. “I have a very varied working week,” she says. “Part of the reason I got into this gig [showbiz] was because I was unemployable in a ‘real’ job and Strictly was almost the closest I had come to that for a long time.

"That aspect of knowing I was going into a training room with a blank slate on a Monday morning and creating something or learning. It was hard in parts – you’re mentally drained and your a**e is sore, your blisters are bleeding. But it’s also an amazing privilege to get to do that with somebody who has danced at the top of their game.”

Angela’s days of sequinned leotards may be behind her, but her wardrobe is as bold as can be. She shows off the controversial side of her clothing – from frilly petticoats to oversized T-shirts – through her Instagram series about things she loves that her “husband hates”.

“I like a man-repelling outfit, I always have,” she says. “I’ve never really been that interested in dressing like a pretty lady. I’ve said before, I dress for the girls and the gays and if I get a nod of approval from them, I’m done.”

She says her husband never really hates what’s on her hangers, though.

“My wardrobe is rich pickings for things that he has rolled his eyes at before,” she says. “He did say I went through a phase in the summer where I was wearing long Bermuda shorts and oversized T-shirts. I feel like I’m adding fuel to the fire but generally I think he’s oblivious.”

Angela Scanlon has partnered with Costa Coffee to celebrate autumn rituals with the return of its Maple Hazel drinks range. Available now in stores and Costa express machines nationwide.

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