Strictly’s Helen Skelton broke down in tears and tried to escape through fire exit before debut

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Helen Skelton revealed she broke down in tears and tried to escape before her debut last night.

The 39-year-old, who is partnered with Gorka Marquez, admitted she struggled before taking to the dance floor for the first time and considered making a swift exit.

Speaking on her Radio 5 show today, Helen reflected: “I had a little cry. I’m normally cool, calm and collected

“I got on the dance floor and they said, ‘When the audience come in...’ and I went, ‘Oh crikey, yeah, there’s people. I was like, ‘There’s a fire door, there, I can get out of it,’ and I did.

“And Gorka found me and said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Just having a minute.’ I literally ran. It was like when I did Celeb SAS, I tried to escape that.”

The mum-of-three also admitted that she was still getting used to life on the show because of the lack of personal space she gets.

She explained:  “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but it’s very weird. Personal space? You wave goodbye to that. Boundaries are non-existent.

“You walk in and they go, ‘Do you want a fake tan?’ Before you know it you’re naked with a load of people spraying you.”

On last night’s show Helen  and Gorka delivered an elegant American Smooth for their first dance.

Their routine to You Send Me by Aretha Franklin secured them a score of 26 – and sixth place on the leaderboard.

Anton Du Beke told Helen to "own the dance" more as he said she was "great".

Shirley Ballas praised her timing during the routine, saying she "sat in the pocket of music".