Strictly star Tony Adams, who had to withdraw from the competition due to injury, has spoken candidly on why he decided to take part in the show.
While speaking to Rylan Clark on the spin-off show It Takes two on Monday night, Tony opened up about his past battles with addiction.
Tony Adams on Strictly: It Takes Two
He said: “I came onto the show with one message to get the awareness of mental health and addition out here, to say 26 years ago….
“I should be dead. I didn’t want to be on the planet and now I’m dancing on a show.”
After physio advice, Tony decided to withdraw from the competition to prevent further damage to his hamstring.
He explained: “It’s been getting tough for the past few weeks. I had a little bit of a hammy last week and I went out there and danced.
“And then on Thursday I did a little bit of pointing my toe down, retraction. It’s not done in football. You don’t point your toes and I went ‘oh.’
Tony set his sights on #Strictly and scored on the dance floor – but it’s Katya and chats on the #ItTakesTwo sofa he’ll miss the most!@TonyAdams @Mrs_katjones @Rylan pic.twitter.com/JbSIDFXKeD
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) November 14, 2022
“So we didn’t do anything on Friday and then the BBC gave me a choice, my wife said ‘my mum is coming you have to dance.'”
Tony’s exit from Strictly
Tears were shed as former Arsenal player England captain Tony became the seventh contestant to leave Strictly.
Tony’s early exit meant that Kiss FM DJ Tyler West and his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell automatically went through to this weekend’s show without having to take part in the dance-off.
Speaking on Sunday’s results show, Tony said: “It’s been emotional guys, I cried for the first month. I came in here with one message: If you’ve got an issue with mental health then please don’t suffer in silence and reach out for help.
“Little did I know I would learn so much about myself during the process. I thought ‘this whole journey rubbish’ was rubbish. But oh my god, the rollercoaster of emotion. I got to be honest, it’s tough.”
The 56-year-old thanked the show for having a positive impact on his life.
Strictly 2022
He added on Sunday: “Physically, it’s really tough out there but dancing is really fantastic for you so go out there and enjoy it and pick up new skills and explore. And smell the roses.”
Although Tony was popular with the studio audience and viewers at home, he failed to impress the judges.
He praised his dancing partner Katya for teaching him the routines which he hailed as ‘genius’. He gushed: “She’s an exceptional human being. She really is.”
Katya, who won Strictly with Joe McFadden back in 2017, spoke highly of Tony: “I will be forever grateful that I was partnered up with you. And do you know what I loved? I loved us! I loved that we didn’t care what anyone thought. We did every single dance our way.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues this Saturday night at 7.45pm on BBC One.
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