Helen Skelton and Gorka on Strictly
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‘Worries’ Helen Skelton’s life as a single mum could threaten Strictly success

It's a lot of pressure juggling the hectic schedule and three children

Strictly star Helen Skelton is performing well on the show, but those close to her are worried she’s giving too much time to the competition.

The former Blue Peter star is currently competing in the 2022 series of Strictly Come Dancing.

She’s also one of the favourites, alongside Fleur East and actor Will Mellor.

Helen recently split with her husband and has since embarked on life as a single mother for the first time.

As a result, a source close to Helen has revealed that her friends are concerned Helen is taking on too much.

Helen has three children, Ernie, seven, Louis, five and nine-month-old Elsie.

Helen Skelton and Gorka on Strictly Come Dancing
Helen Skelton is dedicating lots of time to Strictly (Credit: BBC)

Helen Skelton on Strictly: Friends fear she’s ‘giving too much’

They claimed to New magazine: “She has three young children, her little girl is almost walking, a lot has gone on with her ex, there are a lot of firsts coming up with the baby. She wants to be there for them all but also gives all her time to Strictly because she knows it is going to change her life.”

According to the close friend, Helen isn’t getting any days off as a result of training and her other responsibilities.

“She’s working so hard – she’s like Super Mum. She’s got a huge workload with the rehearsals and is still looking after the kids – there is no day off. It’s hard work but thankfully she has a lot of support.”

Appearing to allude to fears over Helen’s staying power in the competition, the source added: “There is a worry that she is putting a bit too much pressure on herself. There’s only one Helen and she needs to remember that.”

Meanwhile, Helen admitted herself last week that the stress of the show has been getting to her.

She confessed that she ended up planning her escape ahead of her first performance.

“I had a little cry,” she said.

“I’m normally cool, calm and collected. I got on the dance floor and they said: ‘When the audience comes in…’ and I went: ‘Oh crikey, yeah, there are people’. I was like: ‘There’s a fire door, there, I can get out of it,’ and I did.

“And Gorka found me and said: ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Just having a minute.’ I literally ran. It was like when I did Celeb SAS, I tried to escape that.”

Helen Skelton and Gorka on Strictly Come Dancing
Helen split with her husband earlier this year (Credit: BBC)

Strictly star’s ex gushes over new family

Meanwhile, Helen’s ex-husband shared a gushing post about his new family over the weekend as Helen made her Strictly debut.

The Countryfile star and Richie split in April, four months after they welcomed their third child together.

Richie shared a post to his Instagram Stories, along with the caption “love you” and a heart emoji.

He also shared another post, which read: “Finished this Season as a family” and featured a picture of himself with his new partner and her father.

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Read more: Why did Strictly star Helen Skelton split from her husband? Do they have children?

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