(Image: Getty)

Strictly's Toyah Willcox recounts near-death experience and verbal abuse on BBC set

Strictly Come Dancing 2022 star Toyah Willcox has opened up about the most traumatic experience of her life as she recalled a near-death experience on the set of a BBC show.

by · Daily Record

Strictly Come Dancing's Toyah Willcox has shared her chilling account of what she calls "the most traumatic experience of my life" that took place on a BBC set.

The 66-year-old described a particularly harrowing ordeal which occurred during the filming of the BBC show Holiday. Willcox, who is currently engrossed in training with dance partner Neil Jones, inadvertently stepped into the path of a glider which almost killed her after facing verbal abuse from a director, the Mirror reports.

The singer explained the incident happened on the ill-fated day when Princess Diana's death was announced, saying: "I remember one of the most traumatic experiences of my life while working on the Holiday TV programme.

"It was the morning the death of Princess Diana was announced. The world was heartbroken and shocked, or so I believed."

The incident occurred on the day that Princess Diana's death was announced (Image: Getty)

She then recounted the tumultuous conduct of a guest director amidst the sorrowful atmosphere, adding: "That day I was working with a guest director who was clearly anti-royal. I was deeply upset, having known Princess Diana and greatly respected her and how she had to deal with so much bullying from photographers.

"We were filming on a glider airfield in Hereford and little was being done quickly because everyone wanted to down tools, talk and respect the events of the past 12 hours and just grieve."

Willcox further described how the director, incensed by the mournful mood on set, lost control, detailing: "The director, frustrated at everyone being so saddened, lost their temper, standing on the glider landing strip and yelling 'Who gives a f*** about some woman being killed in a car crash and leaving two children behind, it happens every day!'

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"Up until this point, this director had been unbearable to work with anyway, but at that moment I was filled with rage. I was so numb and traumatised at one point I turned and walked into the oncoming path of a speeding silent glider about to land, I almost got killed."

Toyah shared these thoughts on her blog. Her past experiences with abusive directors and co-stars have led Toyah to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards unpleasant behaviour on the BBC contest.

This comes as the BBC is eager to wrap up the investigation into allegations of bullying involving Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington. Actress Amanda, 50, raised concerns about the Italian star's alleged aggressive bullying during training, sparking a damaging public outcry. Giovanni has consistently refuted these allegations.

Toyah previously said: "I support all of you who are tolerating the intolerable in the work space and I stand by my motto: Everyone has a unique quality to bring to the world. If anyone ever tells you otherwise remember 'the abuser always blames their victims'.

Toyah is currently on Strictly Come Dancing (Image: Getty)

Toyah - born with a twisted spine, a clubbed right foot and one leg shorter than the other - recently spoke out about her health struggles and revealed she has suffered from crippling insomnia since she was just 14.

In an interview with the Mirror, Toyah discussed how her sleep issues started during her school days, when she was under pressure to perform well in exams. She recalled: "I experienced the typical teenage stress that the pressure of cramming for exams, and then sitting there for hours on end doing them brings.

"During what felt like a solid month of exam papers, I just stopped sleeping. Once the pattern set in, it became a habit and I never really addressed it because back then no one really talked about insomnia. You'd just had a bad night's sleep."

Top showbiz news

Toyah's recent appearance on Strictly Come Dancing wowed viewers, but it was the presence of her husband, rock legend Robert Fripp, in the audience that generated buzz online. As a renowned musician who has worked with King Crimson and collaborated with icons like David Bowie, Fripp's appearance caught fans off guard.

On social media, one fan expressed their surprise, tweeting: "Honestly never thought I'd see Robert Fripp on #Strictly." Another fan shared their astonishment, posting: "Robert Fripp on #strictly never thought I'd see the day."

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