Martin Roberts made huge steps this year as he bravely overcame his anxieties on Strictly The Real Full Monty.
The BBC presenter has body confidence issues and was one of 12 celebrities who bared all to raise awareness for cancer research.
It's not the first time the TV personality has faced his fears on camera as he was one of the contestants on 2016's I'm A Celebrity.
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Martin is now a recognised face on both ITV and BBC programmes, but his roots are still very much based in Merseyside and its surrounding areas.
The 58-year-old was born in Warrington to a dad from Bootle and a mum from Widnes. He describes the region as a "precious place still close to [his] heart" - and it was at BBC Radio Merseyside where Martin got his first job in broadcasting.
He told the ECHO : "My first ever job was to go out on the streets and do a vox pop talking to people about stockings and suspenders. I'm not sure if it was one of those you just give to people when they're starting out.
"Can you imagine the response I got? A young lad with a tape recorder going up to all these Scousers saying 'what do you think about stockings and suspenders?' I'm surprised I didn't get punched."
Martin's career went from strength to strength as he eventually ended up on Radio 4 before landing his first gig on ITV with Judith Chalmers' Wish You Were Here...?.
Martin had inherited a keen interest in property from his dad - and this played a key role in the development of Homes Under the Hammer.
The show launched in 2003 and is still a resounding success to this day with Martin co-hosting alongside figures including Lucy Alexander and former footballer Dion Dublin.
Away from the screen, Martin now lives in Bath and is married to Kirsty, who he shares two children with, Megan and Scott.
The presenter stripped off for cancer on Strictly The Real Full Monty in memory of his best friend, David Hughes, who died after a battle with bowel cancer aged 54.
Martin told the ECHO how David ignored symptoms he was ill and died two years after his initial diagnosis.
He said: "His wife is convinced that if he'd have gone to the doctors sooner and been diagnosed earlier he would have given himself a bit more of a fighting chance.
"I saw the pain that his family went through and I felt the pain that I went through from losing someone so close to me."
Martin admitted he was initially fearful about appearing on the programme as he suffers with body confidence issues after being bullied at school.
He said: "I've never even taken a top off for me to get my picture taken so the idea of getting completely stripped off was just so frightening.
"I was really badly bullied at school for being fat and I was fat when I was younger.
"Even though I lost a lot of weight later on in life, I don't think you ever get over that sense of getting laughed at and getting made fun of."
Martin said the bullying started in high school and reached its dark peak during the final day of term.
He added: "The word went out that the main, bad bullies were gonna tie me up to a sunken tennis court and dangle me naked by my arms.
"When I knew this was set to happen, I ran down through the labs where you weren't allowed to go and managed to make it out of the school grounds.
"I looked back and I could see a pyramid of people chasing after me. It felt like the whole school racing after me."
Martin was eventually cornered in an alleyway by one of the bullies - and only escaped because he suffered a severe asthma attack.
He said: "I think he thought I was dying, which I effectively was. He then got freaked out and ran away to get someone else.
"They never came back so I consider that I had a lucky escape."
The personality has since set up the Martin Roberts Foundation to help with children's safeguarding issues such as this, but he says the trauma of the event has stuck with him 40 years later.
The psychological impact culminated during an emotional moment on Strictly The Real Full Monty when Martin had to strip off for the first photo-shoot, which he said left him in tears.
He said: "For me that was the worst day by far.
"I just thought I've got to rise above my own feelings about fearing doing this programme for the sake of Dave and to stop other people going through what I've gone through and what Dave's family have gone through."
Martin bravely confronted his fears and was proud of how he overcome his issues to perform the routine in front of 2,000 people at the Blackpool Empress.
The host believes stripping off in front of such a large audience has been a "positive step" in getting over his body confidence issues and he hopes his inspiring story can act as a message to silence bullies.
He said: "It's definitely helped. As with all these things, you need to replace images with other ones don't you.
"If I can replace the image of that little boy running away from that pyramid with a man standing on stage throwing his hat off then that's a really positive mental thing that I can do.
"When I threw off the thong, perhaps I was thinking 'stuff you lot'"
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