Claudia Winkleman has told of how she was tormented by years of intense flashbacks after the 2014 Halloween horror in which her daughter’s costume caught fire.
Matilda was eight when her fancy dress outfit went up in flames after she brushed against a candle.
She suffered severe burns to her legs and neighbour Jamie Poulton was left with second degree burns after trying to extinguish the blaze with his bare hands.
Claudia was so traumatised she needed help from her close pal, adolescent and child clinical psychologist Tanya Byron.
Speaking to Tanya on their new podcast How Did We Get Here?, the Strictly host said: “You helped me with flashbacks. I had flashbacks of when my daughter had an accident and they come at you like a bull."
She added: "Like a tsunami, it’s so enormous you think you’re going to drown. So you have to shove it to one side.”
Claudia, 48, also has sons Jake, 16, and Arthur, eight, with husband Kris Thykier and since the accident she has had to stop herself being too over-protective.
Tanya was among the first people Claudia contacted after the horror, as they have been friends since working on BBC3 show The House of Tiny Tearaways in 2005.
Their podcast features parents who have been through tough experiences.
Describing the fire incident previously, Claudia’s neighbour Jamie said: “It was like a potential horror film in front of me.
"This material just keeps reigniting and re-burning. And it is sticky, so it melts on the skin. It was horrific.”
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