Ruth Langsford has opened up about a nightmare Strictly Come Dancing experience that left her suffering a panic attack on live television.
The former This Morning host was a contestant on the BBC competition in 2017, performing with former professional-turned-judge Anton Du Beke.
But Langsford developed an intense case of stage fright in the first live show, which prompted Du Beke to take her to the studio canteen to assure her she would be OK.
”As time passed, my nerves got worse and worse, and I had a deep sense of dread in the pit of my stomach,” she explained in an extract from her new memoir, obtained by MailOnline.
Langsford said her “brain seemed to detach” from her body” as she walked down the stairs to get on the dance floor to perform a waltz to “This Was Nearly Mine” from the musical South Pacific.
“I was aware of just how many people were in the studio. I live and breathe live television so that wasn’t a problem, but I had never performed in front of a big audience before and I swear I could see the whites of their eyes.”
She continued: “I couldn’t move and I felt dizzy. I had no saliva in my mouth, so my smile was more of a grimace with my lips stuck to my teeth. My heart was beating so loudly I could hear it in my ears, and I was convinced the audience would be able to hear it, too.
At this stage, Langsford thought: “I am going to faint. Right here, on Strictly. A live show. Nobody has ever done that before. Maybe they’ll cut the cameras or focus on the judges?”
Her then-husband Eamonn Holmes was in the audience, and he realised something was wrong. “Unbeknownst to me, at that moment Eamonn turned to Jack and said: ‘I think she’s in trouble.’ He could tell from my wide-eyed stare.”
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Langsford described the dance as “an out-of-body experience” and said that Du Beke carried her around “like a rag doll”. She said it was much later that she realised she’d had a panic attack.
“If that was my first time and I was convinced I was going to die of nerves, how could I do this every week? Anton was going to hate me. I was going to hate me,” she said.
“What I realised in hindsight was that I had suffered a panic attack, not something I’d ever experienced before.”
Langsford, who received 16 out of 40 points for the dance, made it through to week eight of that year’s series, which saw Holby City actor Joe McFadden lift the Glitterball trophy. Du Beke replaced Bruno Toniolo as a full-time judge on the series in 2021.
In 2025, reality star Vicky Pattinson admitted she almost let her nerves about taking part on the show prevent her from becoming a contestant.
She told her fans: “I knew before Strictly even started I was going to struggle with my nerves and anxiety… so much so, that I almost said no to this incredible opportunity. I almost let my fear stop me from doing something amazing.”
“But I absolutely don’t want that nasty little inner critic to dictate my life.. I don’t want it to convince me that I’m not capable of doing brilliant things once in a while.”
Pattinson finished in eighth place on the show, which was ultimately won by Lioness Karen Carney.