Nina Wadia finding Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals tough

26 September 2021

Nina Wadia's body is "being held together by tape".

Nina Wadia

The 52-year-old actress admitted she was "unprepared" for gruelling 'Strictly Come Dancing' rehearsals with professional partner Neil Jones and training has left her "a bit of a mess".

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “I’m currently being held together with tape.

“I guess being possibly the most unprepared person in the world, this is a wake-up call to my body.

“My back is all taped up, my hip flexors are sore, I’ve got plasters all over my feet. Neil makes me wear the heels for training and when I take them off at the end of the day my feet are so swollen I can’t get them back in my sneakers. I’m a bit of a mess, to be honest.”

The former 'EastEnders' star admitted she didn't realise 'Strictly' would be such hard work.

She said: “I genuinely did not know how much hard work it was going to be.

“I know it sounds extremely naive, but you watch people do it and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, if they can do it, surely I can?’ And then you go, ‘They must’ve worked really hard’. It’s insanely tough.”

Fortunately, the show have offered a lot of support and there's always a physio on hand to help.

Nina said: “They make sure you’ve got a physio there at all times if you need them, and they really give you the right exercises to do to build up the area around those muscles so that then you can start moving again.”

Nina wanted to take part in the show to set an example for older women.

She said: “As you get older, people dismiss you. So I want to show that actually women are fabulous in their 50s and don’t write us off just because of our age.

“It’s that side of it, the fun factor, I want to bring back for any women in their 50s, to say to them, ‘It’s OK to make a little bit of a fool of ourselves, just have fun’.

“Age doesn’t matter, it’s what you put into it, and what you want out of it.

“Look at what he achieved. At the end of the day, I’m not the professional but I want to entertain people watching at home and just have the most fun I can possibly have.”