Strictly Come Dancing's Ruth Langsford is in it to win it, and she's so determined she's been asking her famous friends for help. The Loose Women panellist has sought advice from her ITV family including Lisa Riley and Alison Hammond, and Capital Breakfast's Lisa Snowdon. "I was working with Lisa Snowdon recently and she said, 'Make sure you get some blister spray for when you are training because you will get blisters,'" said Ruth.
She added: "Alison Hammond has also said to me, 'Make sure you wear your shoes in. Get them early and make sure you wear them around the house maybe with some socks to soften them up a bit.' Every single one of them including Lisa Riley who I work with on Loose Women has said it is the best experience of their lives and just enjoy it which is what I intend to do."
Ruth, 57, has clearly been taking those tips to heart as she posted a video of herself breaking in her dancing shoes last week. The TV star shared an Instagram video of herself and her pet Maggie practising some steps. "My Maggie helping me break my dancing shoes in... I'm worried... She's got more poise & grace than me!!" joked Ruth, adding the hashtags, "#shoes #blisters."
Eamonn Holmes' wife also spoke about her determination to win, especially following the "unfair" 66-1 odds against her. "I'm absolutely going into this to win it because why would you not? There's no point going into this thinking, 'Oh you know, I'll probably go out in week three.' I don't want to go out, I want to stay, I want to learn all the dances and who knows, I might turn out to be brilliant."
Scoring herself, Ruth admitted: "I would say after a few drinks, I'd rate my dancing quite highly. But when sober and trying to learn a paso doble or a foxtrot properly, I would say two out of ten." She added: "I say I love to dance but when I say that, I mean I love to get up at a wedding or a party and jig about a bit, throw a few shapes. My parents were very good dancers so it will be lovely to do it for them. My dad is no longer with us but I'm sure he will be looking down. He might have passed on some of his dancing moves."