Strictly Come Dancing star Gemma Atkinson has said she nearly broke down in tears after a particularly tough training session ahead of Saturday’s live launch episode.

The soap actress and radio presenter said she “sat on the floor” while working on a routine with her professional partner Aljaz Skorjanec because she felt she could not do it.

Atkinson, 32, told her Key 103 Breakfast Show co-hosts Matt Haslam and Mike Toolan: “I nearly cried on the way home, I thought I’d got the dance nailed and I tried to do the steps and I kept doing them wrong.

Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec
Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec (Guy Levy/BBC/PA)

“I hate letting people down, and I could see know knackered Aljaz was.

“I knew what to do in my head but I couldn’t do it with my feet, to the stage I just sat on the floor and went I can’t do this!”

Emmerdale and former Hollyoaks star Atkinson, who will dance the cha cha during the first live programme of the series to There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back by Shawn Mendes, also revealed that her sister has snubbed her offer of tickets to go and watch the show live.

She said: “Tickets for Strictly are like gold dust, we get two per show.

“I thought being polite I’d offer it to family first, people take their agents but I want my family to experience this. So I said to our kid when I was there, ‘I’ve got two tickets to the show on week three if I’m still in, do you want me to get you booked in?’.

“She said ‘It’s not filmed in Media City is it, it’s filmed down south? It’s a bit far – do you mind if I just watch it at home?’.”