Louise Redknapp has reflected on her time on Strictly Come Dancing, where she reached the finals with professional partner Kevin Clifton.
READ: Louise Redknapp hints Strictly played part in ending marriage to ex-husband Jamie
At the time, the 47-year-old was married to her ex-husband Jamie Redknapp, who has since found love and welcomed a baby with his new wife Frida Andersson – Swedish model.
WATCH: A look back at Louise and Jamie Redknapp’s marriage
Speaking on podcast, Such A Good Feeling, about her career and her time on the show, Louise confessed she initially turned down the chance to be on Strictly on various separate occasions.
MORE: Jamie Redknapp celebrates family occasion after surprise wedding to Frida Andersson
SEE: Louise Redknapp wows fans in surprising sequin dress
“[I had been] offered quite a number of times, always said no,” she shared. “I think by this stage, I felt probably my time was up to ever do anything I loved again. But for some reason got the guts to say yes to Strictly, which I mean I’ve lost a lot of sleep over, saying yes to it, I have to say, I think, ‘Oh god what have I done?'”
On making all the headlines, she added: “I mean it’s been well publicised negatively and positively that it did just give me back that feeling of first day at stage school where you’ve got to just grab onto what really makes your world go round, and beside my kids, for me it’s music.”
The singer was married to Jamie Redknapp for 20 years
Louise – who shares two sons with her ex Jamie – admitted she did her utmost to maintain a balance with her family life, however, it didn’t always work out.
“It’s hard graft and I had pretty sort of strong boundaries of 10-6 because I used to want to get home to put the kids to bed and be there on an evening, but then I felt like I owed that to my family,” she explained.
“As time went on and you get to the end and you’ve got to do three or four dances a night, then you put the extra hours in, and that’s maybe just for three weeks or something. But it was hard and I think I underestimated all the filming.
“When you’re in the dance studio you’re learning your Cha Cha but you’ve got three other people there with a film crew grabbing every moment you go to get a drink of water or you have a break for a quick interview and, ‘How’s it going?’
Louise was partnered up with Kevin Clifton
“They pretty much film the whole of what you’re doing every day, so it’s coming at you from all angles, so I wasn’t expecting to it be so difficult.”
Louise appeared on Strictly back in 2016, and has previously hinted the stint led to the breakdown of her marriage to Jamie. Their 20-year marriage unravelled after her appearance on the hit BBC show.
In her book, You’ve Got This, the star explained: “If I’d done the show four years earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have walked away from my marriage.” Louise added that taking part in the show, “simply wasn’t worth putting anyone I loved or love through the heartache”.
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Source: HelloMagazine
