I struggled to speak and hated myself says Celeb SAS star Maisie Smith as she opens up on EastEnders exit
CELEBRITY SAS: Who Dares Wins star Maisie Smith has revealed that she "struggles to speak" which has left her feeling insecure.
The actress - who played Tiffany Butcher in the BBC soap - spoke about her motivation behind signing up for the gruelling Channel 4 show.
On tonight's episode, Strictly star Maisie, 21, Maisie opened about her speech problems, which can leave her lost for words during conversations.
"I've struggled sort of speaking, I've had, not a stutter but I just could go blank, and words wouldn't come out and I think the more that happened, the more people would just sort of talk over me," she said.
The actress explained how it "affected" her because she constantly felt like anytime she tried to speak "it was just useless and pointless".
"I found it pretty hard, and I just hated the person I was for a long time," she continued.
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"The reason I worked so hard and pushed myself was because the one thing I can't control is the thing I'm most scared of.
"And being scared of talking ... it's horrible. I'd love to overcome these feelings of fear. I want to be this strong person that I try to be."
She explained that people often have misconceptions about her before getting to know her.
"I have no idea how people see me because I just assume you just take one look at me and think, 'oh cocky little Essex girl', which is true, but there's a lot more to me that people don't know," she said.
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The soap star - who is dating popstar Max George - said she feels more confident in her skin when playing a character on TV.
"I was on Eastenders for 13 years, which was all I can remember," she continued.
"I sometimes think I'm more comfortable being Tiffany than I am being Maisie.
"The good thing about being an actress is that I know how to look confident. In reality I have no idea what I'm doing."
Former EastEnders star Maisie is one of 12 well-known faces facing their fears in the new series.
The 21-year-old former child star is tested to her limits in the series and says she has come out of it as “a completely different person.”
The show is known for horrifying tasks and one involved jumping out of a helicopter, which resulted in Maisie being rushed away for medical attention.
She previously told The Sun: “I literally got black eyes from where I fell in the water on my face. For the whole show I had two black eyes.
“Literally when I came out of the show my thighs were still dark purple for two weeks, they were still dark purple just from falling onto water from a height.
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“I hit it so hard that the medic had to check I hadn’t broken my eye sockets.
“I was absolutely battered, but luckily nothing was broken. I was fine.”
