Kelly Holmes appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday where she opened up to Ben Shephard and Susanna Reid about her tough battle with Covid.
The British double Olympic champion contracted the virus in November 2020 and says it took 8-10 weeks for her to feel fully recovered, and she exhibited a variety of debilitating symptoms.
The 50-year-old's symptoms included a sore throat, tight chest, aching body, loss of taste and smell and a minor cough.
"I got it really bad, I’d say it took me 8-10 weeks to really feel good again," she said.
"It was a scary time, it’s a scary time for everybody, this disruption to our lives and then the worry that people have around the health worries as well as financial and job worries.
"I think it’s been a stressful time for so many people but as I say to people is, we never go through that disruption. We’ve been through it and those of us here today can say we did it, it’s history.
"Let’s move on and hope that in not too long we can cuddle our loved ones and go for a gin and tonic.’
Kelly posted a diary entry on social media when she was diagnosed, where she wrote: "Day 1 - sore throat, bad headaches.
"Day 2 - above + aching body, tight chest.
"Day 3 - above worse + test.
"Day 4 - bad headaches, lost smell.
"Day 5 - above, positive result plus loss of taste.
"Day 6 - drained, tight chest, headaches. Really dizzy.
"Day 7 - headaches, dizzy, tired, slight cough, still no taste or smell.
You know you have coronavirus when toothpaste, stilton cheese, peanut butter and Marmite all taste the same - like nothing."
Kelly is starring on The Great Celebrity Bake Off tonight in honour of her late mum Pam, who died from blood cancer in 2017.
She will bake alongside fellow celebrities including James McAvoy, Anne-Marrie and David Baddiel, in a bid to impress judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.
* Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV, and The Great Celebrity Bake Off airs tonight at 8pm on Channel 4
