Adam Thomas has said the Strictly Come Dancing experience has helped him find inner confidence and shake off self-doubt.
The 35-year-old actor, who played Adam Barton in Emmerdale and most recently reprised his role as Donte Charles in Waterloo Road, said training and performing on the BBC One live show with partner Luba Mushtuk has been an “incredible journey”.
“It’s been a little bit of therapy for me doing this show, it really has,” Thomas said.
“I’ve found a bit more self-confidence within myself, I felt like I struggled with that beforehand… which is probably the best thing to come out of this show for me.
“I doubted myself quite a bit going into this show, I never really thought about how much I did doubt myself.
“Just because I haven’t done it before doesn’t mean I can’t do it and I just feel like I’ve just found an inner confidence.”
Thomas, who appeared in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2016 and went on to co-host spin-off show I’m A Celebrity: Extra Camp, said he was “constantly” thinking he would be illuminated from Strictly.
He said: “I feel like everything that I’ve ever done up until this point, I’ve always thought the worst, always thought I won’t be able to do this, or it’s never going to work out or I’m never good enough.
“But it turns out, I am good enough, and I should believe in myself a little bit more than I have been doing, and I don’t say it often, but I am genuinely proud of what I’ve done so far in this show.”
Thomas said he has “never really lacked confidence” in the acting world, but he does when it comes to “stepping outside your comfort zone”.
“I feel like when I do that I am just going to feel a lot more confident in myself, and that I just need to believe in myself that, just because you haven’t done it doesn’t mean you can’t, and I think it’s just going to help with every aspect of my life,” he said.
Strictly Come Dancing: The Results will air at 7.15pm on Sunday.