Helen Skelton issues stern warning to Strictly stars as they reach Blackpool

Helen Skelton has given advice to this year's Strictly Come Dancing contestants following her stint on the show in 2022. Alongside Gorka Marquez, Helen danced her way into the runner-up spot but narrowly missed out on the Glitterball trophy, losing to Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystał.

Now, she's cheering on her mate JB Gill in the latest series and has revealed she's itching for a second spin on the dance floor. "It's like the most wonderful roller coaster," Helen enthused during a chat with OK!. "You get on, you're nervous and you don't dare put your arms in the air until the last minute, then you put your arms in the air and it's over. I tell people just to lean into every second because when it's gone, it's gone," she advised.

Helen, who joined strictly for pure joy said, "I'm lucky – I wasn't in it for any reason other than to put a smile on my kids' faces. I didn't need to sell books or launch something, I just wanted my kids to see me doing something where I was smiling and shining – literally like a glitterball."

Wrapped up in the wonder, Helen remarked, "I'm still in awe of it all. It's TV that you can't take your eyes off. It injects joy into your living room." Known for her adventurous spirit, Helen also candidly opened up in the chat her thrill-seeking nature, something which fans got a glimpse of in her recent Channel 4 series with pal Dan Walker, Yorkshire Great And Small With Dan And Helen.

In the chat with OK!, Helen talked about the mayhem of parenting three young kids and what drives her pursuit of adventure. "I think the older you get, the more you learn to appreciate what puts a smile on your face and what gets your blood pumping. For me, it's that kind of stuff," explained the ex-Blue Peter presenter and Strictly sensation.

She reflected on her past, saying, "I was very lucky that for a long time I was in kids' telly and it was my job to do weird and exhilarating things, and I realised that I liked it. I wasn't good at anything growing up, and doing this stuff you don't have to be good at anything, you just have to be a little bit brave – and stupid!"

Helen's impressive list of feats includes a daring tightrope walk over Battersea Power Station for Comic Relief in 2011 and an ultramarathon in Namibia in 2009, where she was one of only 15 competitors to finish and became the second woman ever to complete the gruelling 78-mile event. She also holds numerous Guinness World Records, including the longest solo journey by kayak and the longest distance travelled in a kayak in 24 hours by a woman after she kayaked the length of the River Amazon on her own for Sport Relief in 2010.

More recently, Helen took on the challenge of canoeing across the world's highest aqueduct (in north Wales) to kick off a Virgin Red campaign that encourages more people to face their fears. But is there anything this fearless woman won't do? "There's plenty," Helen admits.

"But a long time ago, I did a downhill skateboarding thing and I was absolutely terrified. I couldn't speak or breathe. I did it anyway and it felt great – I was really proud of myself. That's my benchmark now. Being scared of something isn't a bad thing."

One reason she's so adept at facing her fears, she says, is because she wants to set a good example for her children, Ernie, nine, Louis, seven, and Elsie, two, who she shares with her ex-husband Richie Myler. "I wouldn't for one second begin to profess that I'm getting any of this parenting thing right, but what is important to me is that I can't expect my kids to be outdoorsy and adventurous and take on challenges and be resilient if they don't see me do it," she explains.

When she's not leading her children up "a couple of Wainrights" on a drizzly Monday, Helen describes their Cumbrian home life as "wonderful chaos", filled with the usual school clubs, play dates and football matches. "In the past year, whenever friends hop in my car they're like, 'What on earth? ' It's crammed with football boots, apple cores, you name it. That's my life right now. My mates always say my house is like Piccadilly Circus because there's a constant stream of kids coming and going. But I'm fine with that. I know in a flash they'll be teenagers and won't want to chat to me, let alone spend time with me."

Currently, if I'm not cheering from the sidelines, they're not content, so life is very much about being a PA to three little people. I'm thankful for it. " Once the kids are tucked in, how does Helen unwind – perhaps a Netflix series? "Did you mention bed?" she chuckles. "I don't think my children are familiar with that term! I have two terrible sleepers, my eldest and youngest, so I doze off when they do.

My youngest was awake from 2am to 4am this morning watching CoComelon!" However, at 41, Helen has learned to embrace the pandemonium of managing a bustling household. "I'm happy to be the one who always asks in the WhatsApp groups where we're supposed to be that day," she admits. "I'm happy to be the person who arrives at the birthday party and hands the kid a tenner instead of a perfectly-wrapped gift. I just ease the pressure.

"Helen, who lived in France in 2015, learned a valuable life lesson about the power of saying 'no'. She recalls an incident where she asked a fellow mum for a playdate and was met with a simple 'no', leaving her feeling disheartened. "She called me a few days later and said, 'It's not that I don't like you, Helen, I just didn't want to. ' In Britain, we say yes even if we've got 7,000 things to do – French people just go, 'No.

'"The word 'no' is a full sentence and that's alright," Helen shares. After the birth of her son Ernie, Helen moved around quite a bit (Ernie has lived in 10 houses so far), but has recently settled back in Cumbria, close to her parents and childhood friends.

"It's the right place for me, right now," she says. However, she doesn't dismiss the possibility of moving again in the future, despite the invaluable support she receives from her parents, Janet and Richard.

"My parents are professional grandparents," she jokes. "Some of my kids' friends actually call my mum Granny! And dad has joined all the WhatsApp groups for the kids' activities. He keeps leaving voicenotes by mistake. He accidentally left a three-minute voicenote to the football group the other day!"