Ex Strictly Come Dancing pro Flavia Cacace has opened up about her “tough” exit from the show.
Flavia originally joined the Strictly line-up in 2006 and left at the end of the 2012 season. In the years since, she’s built a life with actor Jimi Mistry, who she met on the 2010 series of the show.
While they were eliminated six weeks in, it looks like they won something much more valuable: each other. However, that doesn’t mean the decision to leave Strictly was easy.
Strictly Come Dancing pro Flavia Cacace gets candid
In conversation with Betway, Flavia said: “Leaving the show after seven years is really tough. I’d say probably for the next two to three years after I left, I found it very hard to watch. I could not bring myself to watch it, even just hearing the theme tune was really hard.”
However, in the years since, Flavia notes that she’s been doing “a bit more commenting” on Strictly, which helped ease her back into the scene.
“I’ve done It Takes Two’s choreography corner and lots of radio bits and pieces,” she revealed. “I have watched it, and I have actually enjoyed it. You do get hooked once you watch it again and you start having a favourite you want to win. I’m back into it a little bit more now – but I did go through a period where I had to turn away.”
The pro dancer reflected on the training process
The Strictly star also reflected on the training process on the show, admitting that “everybody’s found it hard work”.
“I don’t think Jimi would mind me saying, but Jimi had a little cry when we were doing the Paso Doble,” she said. “It does push you past your comfort zone – it feels huge when you have to learn something completely new.”
She continued: “There are days when you’re tired, you’re physically hurt, you’ve got a lot of pain, and you’re choreographing and giving them more and more steps. They can have days where they storm out, and they need to have a little talking to or take some time out. I remember when we did the Paso Doble and Jimi said, ‘Right, I need five minutes.’ I saw him have a little cry, bless him. But he got through it!”
Would Flavia return to Strictly Come Dancing?
In a previous conversation with Betway, Flavia said that she would “love” to return to the show.
“Definitely, I would. I’d love to,” she said.
“I don’t know if I’d go back as a pro dancer, because I’ve kind of been there and done that, got the medal and everything. So I would definitely be up for going back as a judge,” Flavia added.
“I mean, I’ve done choreography for them before and the years after I left. I would definitely be interested.”
Read More: Strictly host Tess Daly on Claudia Winkleman making her ‘cry her mascara off’’ behind the scenes
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