Susannah Constantine for Strictly Come Dancing
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Susannah Constantine admits demands of Strictly left her in tears

Spoke out in her latest Radio Times column

Strictly Come Dancing star Susannah Constantine has told how her first rehearsal for the show drove her to tears and left her feeling “old”.

The What Not To Wear host, 56, said that during her first day of training she felt she had made a “terrible mistake” – as she met her fellow contestants and professional dancers.

After rehearsals she called her husband, businessman Sten Bertelsen, and cried.

Susannah is partnered with Anton Du Beke on Strictly (Credit: BBC/Guy Levy)

Writing in her weekly Strictly diary for the Radio Times, she said: “On the first day, in among the wonderful pro-dancers and my youthful fellow contestants, I’d never felt so ungainly, uncoordinated and, yes… old.

“I was appalling. I looked and felt like a mad woman fleeing her burning home. I’d made a terrible mistake. That night I called my husband in tears.”

Read more: Strictly fans slam pro over ‘car crash’ performance

The fashion guru, best known for her work alongside Trinny Woodall, received just one point from Craig Revel Horwood during this week’s live show.

Alongside professional partner Anton Du Beke she languished at the bottom of the rankings with a score of 12.

She later took to Instagram to say she was pleased to receive a total score of 12 out of 40, pointing out it’s better than getting 11.

Meanwhile, in his Strictly diary, Dr Ranj Singh admitted to struggles of his own, with the doctor and television presenter saying he was finding balancing rehearsals and his hospital work exhausting.

Dr Ranj with partner Janette (Credit: BBC/Guy Levy)

Dr Ranj said: “Not only is dance choreography totally out of my comfort zone, but going from six hours of exhausting rehearsals straight into a 13-hour night shift at the hospital has definitely taken it out of me.

“There have been times when even standing up on my ward rounds has been a struggle, as my legs felt like jelly.”

Read more: Strictly celebrates ratings success, X Factor not so much

The 39-year-old is a presenter on ITV’s This Morning where he gives advice to callers. He vowed to continue working as a doctor throughout the series.

Steps’ Faye Tozer and Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts topped the leaderboard for the first week, both scoring 29 out of 40.

Radio Times
Susannah Constantine was writing in her weekly Strictly diary for the Radio Times (Credit: Radio Times)

Dr Ranj came joint second alongside Red Dwarf star Danny John-Jules and YouTuber Joe Sugg with 27 points.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One at 6.30pm on Saturday. The first results show of the series will be on Sunday at 7.15pm.

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