Denise Van Outen has revealed that she had to have “major surgery” following an accident on Strictly Come Dancing in 2012.
The 47-year-old spoke about the shocking incident during an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch today (Monday, March 21).
What happened to Denise Van Outen?
Back in 2012, Denise competed on Strictly Come Dancing.
She was paired up with James Jordan, and together they managed to finish runners-up behind Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace.
However, it wasn’t all fun for Denise, who suffered a horror injury just days before the final. She was dropped on her head during rehearsals and managed to slip three discs in her spinal cord.
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She still managed to perform in the final, however, required “major surgery” afterward. The 47-year-old previously kept the injury and surgery private. However, she has now opened up about it in her new book, which came out last week.
During an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch today, Denise went into some more detail about the horror accident.
“I’ve got a scar on my neck – whenever I do live TV I always get messages saying ‘what’s the scar? Have you got a thyroid problem? You need to get checked for cancer’, but actually it’s from an injury I had years ago just after Strictly Come Dancing,” she revealed.
What did Denise Van Outen say next?
Denise then went on to speak about the surgery and why she decided to keep it a secret.
“I fell on my head and slipped three discs into my spinal cord, so I had quite major surgery,” she said.
“Now it’s all out in the open I don’t have to make excuses. It was such a personal thing for me at the time, quite a major surgery with quite a lot of rehabilitation, so I kept it private,” she continued.
“It just wasn’t something I wanted to put out there, but now that it is out there I feel good about it, I’m alright.”
Denise then went on to say that it’s “hard” being constantly questioned about the scar on her throat.
“It is hard – you have those personal niggles you’re self-conscious about and you still want to do your job and love what you do,” she said.
“But it’s after with social media, people have direct contact with you and they always have something to say and sometimes you’re not ready to discuss it openly.”
What else has the star said about her injury?
Denise also spoke about her injury during her appearance on Lorraine last week (Thursday, March 17).
The star was on the show to speak about her new book when the subject of her injury was raised.
Denise revealed that to do the surgery, they had to take her voice box out. This led to her, as well as doctors, worrying that she might not be able to sing again.
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“They were worried I would never be able to sing again because you can get hoarse voice after an operation like that,” she told Lorraine Kelly.
She then went on to say that the rehabilitation time was quite long but she kept it private.
“I wasn’t looking for public sympathy, I just wanted to heal on my own,” she said.
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