Call the Midwife icon recalls ‘uncomfortable’ experience on BBC Strictly

Call the Midwife favourite Helen George has lifted the lid on what it was really like competing on Strictly Come Dancing as she prepares to return to reality TV. The 41-year-old competed on the BBC ballroom show back in 2015 where she was teamed up with Aljaž Škorjanec and finished in sixth place.

Ten years on, the blonde bombshell is set to embark on another terrifying reality show, this time swapping out the infamous BBC ballroom for shark-infested waters. In an interview with Radio Times, the mum-of-two has opened up about how she feels returning to reality TV after so many years away. She told the outlet: “I’m an actress and I play other people’s vulnerabilities.

“So playing my own is always terrifying. I’m ugly crying, there’s no hair and makeup... it’s not glamorous. Now I’m thinking, ‘What have I done? I haven’t been ‘myself’ on screen since I did Strictly [in 2015], and that was uncomfortable for me.”

Months before she took part on the live show, the Trixie star famously separated from her then husband. At the time, she told outlets that she hoped competing on the show would act like “therapy” to help her get through her divorce.

She said at the time: “Going through a divorce is awful. I’d been asked to do Strictly and, strange as it sounds, I thought it would be like a sort of therapy after my divorce. I’d spoken to quite a few people who said it really helped them through difficult times.

"You are focused on this one thing, its an emotional journey. I was so naive that I thought no one would be interested in me, so that was a shock. I soon realised I didn’t want all that celebrity stuff.”

This year, the blonde bombshell will join Lucy Punch, Sir Lenny Henry, Ross Noble, Rachel Riley, Ade Adepitan, and Dougie Poynter as they get up close and personal with bull sharks in a diving cage.

But that's not all - they will be interacting with hammerheads, stingrays, and more on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is home to seven to ten different shark species.

The aim of the show is to undo the damage Jaws did to millions of viewers across the globe by demonising the sharp-toothed creatures as the film celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

As the breeds get larger and more dangerous over five episodes, they build themselves up to the ultimate challenge: diving with tiger sharks. Ahead of the upcoming show, she shared her hopes going into the nail-biting challenge.

She told Radio Times: "I wanted to get more confident for them. They were impressed I even went in the first place, because they didn't think I would. I was really terrified of the water, so I might be a bit embarrassed about some of the scenes!"