Eastender Maisie Smith has revealed she’s been literally aching to get into this week’s Strictly semi-finals.
The actress, 19 – Tiffany Butcher in the BBC soap – is so beaten up after weeks of training she can’t even stand up in the shower.
And that’s despite going to the gym for six months to prepare for the dance show.
She admitted: “I’m in bits… I’m aching in every single body part.
“I really thought I had planned for this, but I really didn’t.
“You just can’t appreciate how tough it is on your body until you’re doing it every day.
“I have a bubble bath every night for about two hours just to relax my entire body.
"I can’t stand up in the shower – my legs are just in bits. That’s how tough this show is.”
But Maisie’s hard work with partner Gorka Marquez, 30, has paid off.
The pair got high scores last week to gain a place in the semis against four other couples.
On Saturday night they dance the Viennese Waltz to Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years and their Couples’ Choice to Getting Jiggy Wit It, by Will Smith.
But Maisie hasn’t quite dared to dream of lifting the glitterball trophy.
She said: “Obviously, it would be exciting, but that’s not why I’m doing this. The whole point of the show is to have fun, learn to dance, challenge yourself.
“And that’s why I want to stay to the bitter end.”
