Strictly's Toyah Willcox was once brutally attacked at knifepoint

Strictly star Toyah Willcox has revealed for the first time how she was once brutally attacked at knifepoint in a shocking ordeal.

The singer, 66, who will take to the dance floor for the first time this weekend, was targeted while walking with a friend at night.

Recounting the horrific attack, Toyah explained how she and her friend, Dawn, were attacked when they were in their teens and only escaped by threatening to 'unleash the devil' on her attacker.

Writing in her autobiography, Living Out Loud, Toyah explained how she had to try not to show any 'fear' and had to wait for the 'right moment of escape'. 

She wrote: 'Dawn and I were in a cafe frequented by a frightening gang of Angels. Dawn was more worldly-wise than me. She enjoyed male company and didn't seem disturbed by the fact that these guys were armed up to the hilt with knuckle-dusters and blades.

'After the café, we went to a pub, then did some window-shopping down the High Street, and they decided they wanted to go to the nearby park. Walking ahead with Dawn I begged her to catch a bus with me out of there. But Dawn said, "Don't be such a stick in the mud, it'll be fun".

'While Dawn disappeared into a bush with her guy, I fought mine off, with as much boring conversation as I could come up with, until Dawn emerged.

'It seemed it was my turn to be dragged off. Determined not to show fear, I feigned every off-putting condition in the book - disease, food poisoning, madness, fits, period pains, being gay - all in the space of five minutes.

'I pleaded with Dawn to get me out of this. She said, "Go on, it's fun". But the atmosphere changed when my man pulled a knife on me. Dawn went white, made her excuses and left.'

Revealing what she did next, Toyah continued: 'Knowing that fear would do nothing but work against me, I decided I had to follow the process until I had the right moment of escape.

'So upping the bravado, I changed tack and pulled the man into the park's gents' toilets. He was drunk. That was my strength and my opportunity.

'Putting his blade down to unzip his trousers he pushed me to the floor and lay on top of me.

'This seemed to make his intoxication worse; perhaps he was stoned as well because he momentarily became confused and lost co-ordination of his hands.

'I stared him in the eyes and asked him, "Would you like to meet the Devil?" He was dumbstruck.

'I don't know what his experience of this moment was, but as I focused as much fear and hate upon him as I could muster, without flinching a facial muscle, he turned aside to vomit.

'Seizing the moment, I got up, expressed my disappointment with his performance and left the building.

'He was a completely different man when he came out. Completely unsure of me, he walked me to the bus stop.'

It comes after Toyah detailed the lengths the BBC have gone to in order to make Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals 'feel safe' following the last series' bullying scandals. 

The eighties pop star, who is the oldest contestant competing in this year's series, said training so far is 'one of the happiest experiences of my life' and it has been a 'long time since she has felt this well looked after'.

As she prepares to take to the ballroom this weekend, Toyah revealed the stars now have a 'psychologist with them all day' while in the studio and the professional dancers are 'all supportive and lovely'.

Writing on her The Official Toyah Willcox Website September blog, she said: 'Over the past six weeks I have been filming VTs, doing great press, lots of photo shoots, I’ve even had bra fittings and meeting my fellow celebs who are all fantastic AND I have danced with all of the pro dancers, they are all supportive and lovely.

'I feel safe with this team. We have a psychologist with us all day, an amazing celeb producer, stunning press team…….It’s a long time since I have felt this well looked after. Here in Strictly world they want us celebs to know they are here to support us 360 degrees.'

She continued: 'We have been working together for almost a month now. All the pro dancers tell us to eat as much as we can. I can feel my weight going up, I don’t need a lot of food, my energy is in my genes.'

'We have the most amazing people looking after us. Costumes/ hair/ make up/ talent support and psychologists who check in hourly.' 

The BBC's flagship show has recently been thrown into turmoil amid allegations of 'bullying' and abuse by two of its professional dancers, Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice.

Di Prima, 30, has admitted to kicking his partner Zara McDermott, 27, in training while Pernice's partner Amanda Abbington, 50, has accused the Italian dancer of bullying her in rehearsals.

BBC bosses have announced new duty of care protocols for the show's 20th edition.

The new measures include a production team member present during training room rehearsals and increased support for celebrity contestants and professional dancers.

A Celebrity Welfare Producer and a Professional Dancer Welfare Producer have been appointed to fulfil these duties.

Further training will also be delivered for the production team and crew.

The Strictly Come Dancing 2024 launch show will air on Saturday, September 14 at 19.20pm on BBC One & BBC iPlayer. 

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