Strictly’s Dianne Buswell reflects on eating disorder battle
Strictly Come Dancing professional Diane Buswell has opened up on her experience with eating disorders, admitting she considered giving up her career because of bulimia.
The pro dancer appeared on This Morning yesterday (March 5), detailing her battled with bulimia nervosa which she explained started at a young age.
"I think when it starts to consume your life and you wake up in the morning and wonder what will I eat, what calories will be in it, and how much exercise will I need to do to burn it off, that's when you realise it's a problem…when you're not thinking about anything else but that," Buswell told presenters Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle.
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"I do believe it comes from when I was a young girl," the dancer continued.
"Growing up in the dance world you feel like you have to look a certain way," she added. "I also went on to dance in dance companies and had a weekly weigh in and that was terrifying."
Buswell revealed she almost gave up her career when she reached a breaking point.
"I wasn't sure if my body could get through an hour show," she explained.
"My energy went away and I had nothing to give on the dancefloor," she then said.
"I kept telling myself to keep going but there was a breaking point where my body physically couldn't do it anymore."
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Buswell, who was paired with EastEnders' Bobby Brazier on the latest season of Strictly, has been vocal about eating disorder awareness before.
Last month, she revealed she was one of the people who have contributed to the book Eating Disorders Don't Discriminate: Stories of Illness, Hope and Recovery from Diverse Voices.
Beat is a charity which raises awareness and understanding of eating disorders, and supports those affected by them. It has a one-to-one secure messaging service, and details of its phone helplines can be found here.
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Tickets for Strictly's 2024 live arena tour are available now.
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