A FORMER Strictly Come Dancing star revealed signing up for the show was a ‘big mistake’ – having quit due to health struggles.
Comedian and actor Robert Webb was part of the BBC show’s 2021 line-up, partnered with Dianne Buswell.
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The 52-year-old pulled out of Strictly after three dances, on health grounds.
Previously, the comedian had undergone open heart surgery back in 2019.
Speaking to The Times, Robert reflected that he’d accepted the Strictly offer as “these opportunities don’t come along very often.”
He said: “They don’t happen to everyone.
“And I’d just nearly died, so I thought, “This is no time to be sitting on the edges; why don’t you contribute and participate?”
“It all sounded like a good idea at the time.”
Robert added: “It all added up to a big mistake.”
Although he was in “quite good shape” on paper, the star struggled with Strictly’s intense schedule.
He explained: “That schedule is a law unto itself, and I just wasn’t anywhere close to being able to do that.
“I don’t even know if I could now. I don’t think it’d be a very good idea.”
Robert said in a statement at the time of his exit: “I’m extremely sorry to have to announce that I’m withdrawing from Strictly Come Dancing due to ill health.
“Two years ago I had open heart surgery and although I believed I was fit enough to take on Strictly and its demanding schedule, it became clear that I had bitten off way more than I could chew for this stage in my recovery.
“I had begun to feel symptoms that led me to seek an urgent consultation with my heart specialist, and it was her view that it would be better for the sake of my health to step back from the show.”
Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis – then starring in EastEnders – went on to win that year’s series.
Robert is best known for working with David Mitchell as comedy duo Mitchell and Webb,
Earlier this year, The Sun told how the duo are reuniting for a new sketch comedy series.
Joining them are Ghosts actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe, as well as comedians Lara Ricote, Stevie Martin and Kystral Evans.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and iPlayer.
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