Teresa Mannion has admitted that she suffered from “massive anxiety attacks” while on Dancing With The Stars.
The reporter was the most recent contestant to leave the show and one of the first to compete in the dance-off.
Speaking about the show, the mother-of-two said, “Initially I was very much a reluctant dancer. I thought, ‘No, I can’t do this. It’s way beyond my comfort zone.'”
Anxiety: Teresa admitted that she thought DWTS was out of her comfort zone | RTE
The RTE star revealed that she was keen to be on the show because of the amazing opportunity.
‘I couldn’t unread the email and then I met them [DWTS producers,]” she told the Irish Daily Mirror.
“It was twirling around in my head that this would never come around again, I would never get to have one-to-one tuition with someone like John.
“It was an amazing opportunity so I tried to quell the fear and go. It was hugely out of my comfort zone and I had massive anxiety attacks throughout most of the weeks.”
Underdogs: The RTÉ star has felt her confidence grown over the last couple of weeks | RTE
However, Teresa has felt her confidence had grown over the last few weeks and also admitted that she understands now why people cried on Strictly Come Dancing.
“The last couple of weeks my confidence was just beginning to build.
“We knew from the outset there was two divisions in this competition – there were wonderful dancers who danced as children and were just amazing. I used to watch them in rehearsals and think ‘What am I doing here?’
“Then there were the underdogs. The Irish love underdogs, don’t they?
“I used to laugh at Strictly when people cried but now I know,” she added.
Catch Dancing With The Stars on RTÉ 1 this Sunday from 6.30pm.
