Dancing On Ice Michaela Strachan's horror health battles and ordeal with worm living under her skin

Dancing On Ice star Michaela Strachan has had to overcome many health struggles throughout her life, from anorexia in her teens to cancer and more recently a worm living under her skin

Michaela Strachan is fighting fit as she prepares to lace up her skates and compete on Dancing On Ice, but she has been dealt some difficult blows over the years.

The Springwatch presenter is competing in the ITV skating competition with professional Mark Hanretty, taking to the ice during the show’s launch on Sunday, January 12. However, a nasty injury left her on crutches just weeks before Dancing on Ice training began.

Speaking ahead of Dancing on Ice’s return, Michaela, 58, admitted that she suffered her worst injuries before she stepped foot in the rink. “I’ve got some good bruises. I actually had an injury before I got on the ice,” she said. “I sprained my ankle quite badly two months before we started. I was on crutches.”

The TV presenter was out running with her partner, cameraman Nick Chevallier, when she injured her ankle. “I went over on my ankle and sprained it. I thought, ‘It’s alright,’ as I hobbled back down the mountain,” she said. “Meanwhile, my partner is going, ‘You’re doing Dancing on Ice! This is really not good. You’re injured before you even hit the ice.’”

But for Michaela, who now lives in the Cape Town countryside with her family, her sprain was just one of many health obstacles she's had to overcome throughout her life. After beating anorexia in her late teens, the presenter spent her 20s battling alopecia and allergies, including chronic eczema.

"Some mornings I would have to bathe my eyes open and the irritation was so intense that I couldn't help rubbing my eyes with my fists to relieve the pain," she told the Mirror in 2013. "The excessive rubbing meant my eyes became hugely swollen and on one occasion they looked like giant red footballs – not a good look for television."

She combated the skin issue with a mix of medicinal herbs, but it wasn't the end of her health journey, as she then received a terrifying cancer diagnosis that made her appreciate life all the more. Following a routine mammogram in 2014, Michaela was diagnosed with breast cancer and was advised that a double mastectomy would offer her the best chance of survival.

Speaking out about the moment she learned the devastating news with You that same year, the presenter said: "The tears started to roll as my doctor tried to tell me what would happen next but I only took in every fifth word or so. The one word that registered was cancer."

Thankfully, Michaela is now cancer-free and believes the health challenges she'd faced have given her a new appreciation for life. Opening up to Woman & Home magazine in 2022, Michaela explained: "Going through breast cancer also strengthened me. It has given me more resilience and made me appreciate my life more because I realise that something could have ended it early and that's a shock."

She added: "Often, I forget I've had breast cancer. I had a double mastectomy and have slightly funny-looking boobs but, other than that, that's it. I was incredibly lucky."

Earlier this year, Michaela opened up about her horrifying ordeal of having a live worm living inside her for six months after she ate animal poo by mistake. Appearing on Loose Women in April, the wildlife presenter, 58, told the eye-watering story and left the panel reeling in horror after detailing how she swallowed faeces while she was eating her lunch.

Viewers were left squirming as Michaela told them: "People are going to think this story is awful. I was doing a lot of work in zoos at the time and I didn't wash my hands properly and then ate a sandwich. It was from animal faeces that I ended up getting a worm inside me, and under my skin.

"You could see it. I would itch and then you could see this worm moving under my skin. I got quite attached to this worm - literally! I gave him a name, William the Worm. And he is still there six months later. It didn't impact me in any way. It wasn't intestinal.

"Eventually I had to end the love affair by taking double dosage of worm tablets. Most of the time you wouldn't know he was there but when I itched he would come up the surface to say hello."

Dancing on Ice returns on Sunday at 6:30pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.