Kym Marsh to miss Strictly Come Dancing due to Covid, says BBC

Kym Marsh will not take part in Strictly Come Dancing this weekend after testing positive for Covid, the BBC has said.

The 46-year-old actor and her dance partner, Graziano Di Prima, remain in the competition and are due to return the following weekend.

Marsh finished second bottom of the Strictly leaderboard after performing a pasodoble in the first show held at Blackpool Tower ballroom since the outbreak of the pandemic.

She was not in the dance-off on Sunday, however, as the public decided that the TV presenter Tyler West and the singer and actor Molly Rainford should face elimination.

West became the eighth contestant to leave in a vote decided by the head judge, Shirley Ballas, who said it was “one of the most difficult dance-offs that we’ve ever had to choose”.

Marsh, who presents BBC One’s Morning Live, has spoken about coping with severe anxiety before she dances on Strictly. The former Hear’Say singer told the Sun she had had a panic attack “out of nowhere” before a dance earlier in the competition and she had been working to manage her anxiety.

“I’ve always suffered from panic attacks. It’s something I don’t mind talking about because I know it can affect anyone at any time,” she said. “Sometimes it has been ages [since an attack] and then suddenly one just hits. Everyone thinks that because you’re on the telly you must be amazingly confident, but the truth is that I’m not always and this is how that comes out.”

Her performance on Saturday’s show drew praise from Ballas, who took over as head judge from Len Goodman in 2017. She said Marsh was “in warrior mode”, adding: “You are here and you are fighting.”

The former Coronation Street actor last week paid an emotional tribute to her son Archie, who died in 2009 after being born prematurely. She danced an American smooth to the Snow Patrol song Chasing Cars.

Before taking to the stage, she said in a recorded segment: “I feel like by doing this dance not only is it going to be in memory of Archie but it also hopefully might get people talking about their experiences, because it is the right road to putting your life back together.”