Eamonn Holmes on how he pushed Ruth to do Strictly

The presenter reveals his wife had doubts about taking part on the hit show

Website Editor

September 7, 2017Sep 7, 2017, 2:10 PM GMT+1

Since Ruth Langsford was revealed as the third 2017 Strictly Come Dancing contestant, the presenter has openly said that taking part in the hit BBC show had always been a dream of hers. So when she was asked, did she say yes on the spot? Not quite… Ruth's husband Eamonn Holmes has revealed to HELLO! that she nearly turned down her dream 'job'.

Sitting down for a chat about his new project with Public Health England, in which he's encouraging members of the public to sign up for the Active 10 app, and commit to 10 minutes of vigorous exercise a day, Eaomnn aditted his wife needed a little nudge in the right direction. "Ruth is a terrible worrier," Eamonn says. "She came to me 'Oh my goodness, I've been asked to do Strictly, it's always been my dream but I just don't have time to do it.'

Ruth Langsford has said doing Strictly has always been her dream

"If you have a job, Strictly is a very difficult project to be involved in," he explains. "When she said that to me, 'Well I can't do it', I said to her, 'Well, obviously it wasn't your dream then, if it was, you would do it.'

Eamonn Holmes and Dr Hilary Jones take to the streets to get people to sign up for the Active 10 app

"She didn't take that very well and said to me 'You are just putting pressure on me' and I said, 'No, I am not. If it was my dream, I would find a way to do it.'

Ruth and Eamonn have been married for seven years

Eamonn's frank reaction managed to convince Ruth. "She wasn't pleased with me, but she went away and she came back six hours later and she said 'I've been thinking about what you said and you are right, I am going to do it, it is my dream and I am going to do it.'"

See the Strictly Come Dancing stars in costume for the very first time!

Ruth's first weeks have been hard and have involved a lot of late night rehearsals, interviews, make-up and tanning sessions on top of her other "four jobs", but the 56-year-old is loving every second of the experience.

The 2017 Strictly Come Dancing contestants

"Since she has said yes she is under pressure, big pressure, but I asked her (about the show) this morning and she said: 'It's really hard, but I love it.' And that 'but I love it' bit was all I needed to hear."

Eamonn has teamed up with his wife, Ruth Langsford, and Public Health England to get the nation moving using the Active 10 app.

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