Laura Whitmore opens up about ‘crying every day’ on Strictly Come Dancing

Laura Whitmore has revealed she was left “broken” following her time on Strictly Come Dancing.

The TV host appeared on the show in 2016 with pro partner Giovanni Pernice, who at the time had recently split from Coronation Street actress Georgia May Foote. The pair had danced together on the previous series.

In a piece for the Huffington Post, Laura touched upon her time on the show in the context of the #MeToo movement.

“Women are not playthings for men or the media,” Laura’s article begins.

She writes on the website: “I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show. I love dancing – I topped the leaderboard twice – but before it even began, I was thrown into the lion’s den and into the middle of someone’s break-up that had nothing to do with me. Once again, I was a ‘rumoured love interest’.

“I was placed with a dance partner I was extremely uncomfortable with – and in the end I felt broken. I cried every day. And I really was broken, both mentally and physically, by the end.”

Laura continues: “To the outside world I tried to suck it up and smile, and I did that to the best of my ability, but it affected me deeply. My friends and family knew that I was struggling. And they were there for me.

“The media, however, saw me as blonde bait in a sequinned dress.”

She adds: “How have we sunk to this level, where women are routinely reduced, and demeaned, in this way? It is impossible to understand, when everything about it is so wrong, so misguided and so vile.”

Elsewhere in the post, Laura speaks candidly about her experiences of sexual harassment.

She concludes, saying of women: “We are not meat. We are beautiful, complex creatures. We should not have to feel like we are constantly on guard.”