Angela Scanlon says she was ‘spat out by Strictly’ as she details time on show

Angela Scanlon felt like she was “wrung out and spat out the other side” during her stint on Strictly Come Dancing.

The Irish presenter took part in the BBC dance competition alongside dance partner Carlos Gu last year. However, she was voted off after being in the bottom two against West End star Layton Williams. At the time, she teared up over her departure and said her final performance to I Will Survive felt like “salt in the wound considering we didn’t”.

And now, the 40-year-old presenter opened up about her time on the show and admitted it was “hardcore”. Speaking on Caroline Hirons’ brand-new podcast, Glad We Had This Chat, she said: “It was hardcore and I felt like I had been, you know, like a cloth. Wrung out and, you know, spat out the other side, but, you know, not that much time.

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“Even in the moment, I knew how significant it was for me on a lot of different levels. And the reason that I went into it is there had been conversations, as there often are, for a lot of people who do it. And I really went into it selfishly, it was a personal thing for me rather than, you know, it wasn’t a career move for me.”

She continued: “Obviously, there are very few shows that give you that amount of exposure and eyes and all of that stuff. So like I was aware of that, but it was very much: ‘I could go in and be absolutely s**t and I’m okay with that.”

Angela went head-to-head with Layton and his professional partner Nikita Kuzmin. They performed an American Smooth to Perry Como’s Magic Moments, originally scoring 34 points.

After watching both routines, the judges delivered their verdicts. Craig Revel Horwood chose to save Layton and Nikita. Craig said: “Technically for me personally, the better dance of the night, and the dance I actually enjoyed the most, was Layton and Nikita.” Motsi Mabuse also opted to save Layton and Nikita, telling the couples: “Well this was certainly a tough, tough dance-off. I based my decision on musicality and balance and that is why I will be saving Nikita and Layton.”

Anton Du Beke also chose to save Layton and Nikita, making it three out of three. He said: “Well I thought that was quite a tense dance off, I don’t think either couple danced as well as they can. It was the closest dance-off we’ve had in the series so far. This is the only thing, I saw an error from one of the couples, so I’m going to vote to keep into the quarter-finals, Layton and Nikita.”

Caroline Hirons’ Glad We Had This Chat podcast is available on Apple, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.