Vicky Pattison broke down in tears during the Strictly Come Dancing press day, saying she felt “scared” and “overwhelmed” about taking part in the BBC competition and admitting her biggest worry was getting stuck in her own head.
The 37-year-old former Geordie Shore star told the Daily Mail she has low expectations of winning the glitter ball but is determined to make the most of the experience and to change public perceptions of people who start in reality television. She said she has long wanted to appear on the show and feared putting too much pressure on herself to deliver high scores on the live stage, adding that after a rehearsal she “went and cried in the bath.”
Pattison, who won I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2015 and finished runner-up on Celebrity MasterChef in 2019, listed a string of reality and factual programmes on her CV — including Ex on the Beach, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Pilgrimage and her own show My Big Fat Geordie Wedding — and said she wanted to show that contestants from those backgrounds can be hardworking and capable. She described feeling “out of my comfort zone” and acknowledged she will not be immediately polished on the dance floor, but promised to “work really hard” to improve.
She credited a wide support network for helping her prepare, naming close friend and former The Only Way Is Essex star Pete Wicks as an inspiration. Wicks, who was on Strictly previously, encouraged her to be herself and helped change her view of the show. Pattison also said podcast co-host Angela Scanlon, a 2023 Strictly contestant, had offered advice, and that other public figures — including Ruth Langsford, Sara Davies and Ore Oduba — had reached out with support. She added that the stress of the show is tangible, recalling how she had seen Wicks smoking on site during his time on Strictly and realised the pressure is intense.
“I'm doing it — it's me — so I need to get a better handle of myself and put my big girl pants on and try and make the most of it,” she said. “I will kick myself, you know, if I'm in my own head the whole time and I don't enjoy it.” Pattison married husband Ercan Ramadan in 2024.
Pattison’s comments came as other contestants discussed their own aims and expectations. YouTuber George Clarke, who is also taking part in this year’s series, said he was not entering to prove anything about online creators and planned to be himself. Clarke, who has more than 600,000 YouTube subscribers and has worked in television including on the Netflix series Inside, said the show would provide a rare routine compared with the often unpredictable schedule of online work. He also confirmed he was in a relationship with lingerie model Yasmin Amelia and said he was not concerned about the so-called ‘‘Strictly curse.’’
“I am not coming into this to prove a point,” Clarke said. “I am not going to attempt to be anything except myself and see if people like that. If they don't, then fair enough.” He said he expected the usual pre-show nerves: “I don't get nervous until it's just about to happen… it's a nice buildup and then a breakdown in the dressing room.”
Strictly Come Dancing has repeatedly drawn contestants from a mix of entertainment backgrounds and has been credited with raising public profiles while exposing participants to intense rehearsal schedules and live scrutiny. Pattison’s entry follows other reality-TV alumni who have used the show either to reshape public perceptions or to broaden their careers, a dynamic she said motivated her to sign up after years of watching the programme as a viewer.
Producers have not yet announced the full running order for the new series. Pattison and her professional partner have begun rehearsals and she was pictured training and taking breaks with fellow contestant Dani Dyer, underscoring the early focus on preparation ahead of the live shows.