Kensit: 'Strictly brought joy to my life'

Patsy Kensit has credited Strictly Come Dancing with bringing the joy back into her life.

The Holby City actress, who was axed from the reality show last week, detailed to The Mail On Sunday how stepping onto the dancefloor had helped her cope with her divorce from fourth husband Jeremy Healy.

She explained: "I needed something to lift me back up. Once, that something might have been an ill-fated love affair. But in so many ways Strictly came along at just the right moment.

"Everybody talks about the journey. But for me it was real. I've managed to get my joy back. I discovered that what I thought I didn't have, what I thought was missing, has always been there - I've got my children and, without it being a cliché, I don't need anything else.

"This is the first time in my life I've come out of a relationship and realised I don't want, or need, a man."

However, Kensit admitted that she was initially horrified by the prospect of strutting her stuff in front of millions of viewers.

"At first Strictly was terrifying and a huge gamble on an emotional level - it was a risk. My confidence was in tatters, it had gone completely.

"Strictly takes you completely out of your comfort zone. It makes you perform, stone-cold sober, in front of millions of people."