Catherine Tyldesley has made no secret of her excitement over joining the Strictly Come Dancing family – but the nerves will no doubt soon kick in once the live shows start on Saturday 21 September. Thankfully, the former Corrie star has some support from soap stars who have already been in her shoes – and one of those is 2017's, Gemma Atkinson. The former Hollyoaks actress passed on some wise words of wisdom to Catherine, advising her to not forget to enjoy her time on the show.
"Gemma Atkinson, Lisa Riley, Tina O'Brian – they've all said the exact same thing, enjoy it! Because if you don't let go of your inhibitions and enjoy it, it's just going to be really stressful," she told HELLO! ahead of Saturday's launch show. But enjoying herself isn't the only thing Catherine is making sure she works on, she's also upped her fitness regime so she's able to cope with the long hours and endless dance rehearsals.
Gemma appeared on Strictly in 2017
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The mum-of-one has been calling on her personal trainer husband, Tom Pitford, to help her build her stamina by incorporating lots of cardio into her workout. "I've been doing more cardio. I've tried to do more," the 35-year-old added. "My husband's a PT and he said, 'Let's get your feet moving faster,' and in the first few sessions he was like, 'Okay, now go faster,' and I was like, 'No, this is fast! This is it!' and he'd be like, 'Oh my God,' so that's been quite stressful," she added. "But we're still married so…"
Catherine and her PT husband Tim Pitford
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Catherine has been throwing herself into Strictly rehearsals. Last month, she told her Twitter fans: "I can't believe I'm going to say this… It's 5.20am… and all I can think about is dancing! God, I've got the bug! Big time!" The actress has also spoken about her ideal professional partner – and she's keeping her options open. Asked by a Twitter follower who she was hoping to be paired with, she replied: "Anyone that will have me" followed by three crying with laughter emojis.
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