Denise Van Outen has revealed the agony she felt after her first Dancing On Ice performance caused her to vomit and almost pass out backstage.
The TV presenter and West End star was rushed to hospital on the weekend of her first performance after suffering a serious fall while training.
Despite injuring her shoulder, Denise did perform in the first live show of this year’s series, but has since bowed out of the competition, after discovering more about the severity of her injuries.
“I can’t rotate my arm or move it too much. I’m very limited with movement, and there was only ever going to be so much I could do on the ice,” Denise told The Sun.
“With an injury like this it is too dangerous to go back on. I didn’t want to end up on a surgeon’s table with pins.”
Reflecting on her performance earlier in the series, she said: “I obviously didn’t know at the time that it was fractured as well, but now it all makes sense because of the level of pain.
“I came off after that show and vomited, and I nearly passed out because I was in so much pain.”
Although she was suffering, Denise wasn’t allowed to take painkillers any stronger than paracetamol before taking to the ice, as she’d have been considered too “intoxicated” for it to be safe.
“I was literally clinging on to Matt [Evers, her skating partner] for dear life just to get through the show,” she added. “But I think if you look at any of the pictures, you can see that I was in terrible pain.”
An ITV spokesperson said earlier this week: “We adore Denise and Matt and we’re so very sad to see them leave the competition so soon. They are both much loved members of the Dancing On Ice family and we’d like to thank them for their hard work, from the moment they began training through to the joyful performances they brought to the show.
“We wish Denise all the very best as she now takes some time to make a full recovery.”
Denise has been replaced in the competition by Olympic gymnast Amy Tinkler, who has been rehearsing in the event that one of the celebrities is required to leave the competition.
Dancing On Ice airs on Sunday nights at 6pm on ITV.