BBC Strictly star Sam Quek's 'recurring nightmare' came true after health scare

Olympian turned TV host Sam Quek, 35, had to deal with something much more intense than the Strictly Come Dancing judges' harsh remarks when going into labour with her second child

Strictly star Sam Quek has opened up about a gruelling health scare which became a 'recurring nightmare'.

The former hockey player turned TV host has had a rocky start to her Strictly Come Dancing stint, ranking joint seventh last week with TOWIE star Pete Wicks. Partnered with pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin, the duo scored 22 points for their Charleston routine to Bob Wilson and his Varsity Rhythm Boys - a one point decrease from their first week Foxtrot.

But fading hopes of winning the famed Glitterball Trophy don't come close to the dramatic ordeal Sam suffered when going into labour with her second child, Isaac 'Zac' Gregory.

In an exclusive interview with OK! Magazine back in 2022, the 35-year-old ex Olympian explained that a week before her due date, she was booked to host BBC's Morning Live, but woke in the middle of the night and started to experience contractions. Then, she realised she was bleeding.

"I woke up and felt a bit of a twinge," Sam recalled. "Those twinges gradually grew stronger and stronger and turned into contractions. I'd been having recurring nightmares that if this birth went to a C-section, I was going to haemorrhage. I just felt like something was going to go wrong for this one, I don't know why."

After spotting blood while getting changed, Sam, who is married to property entrepreneur Tom Mairs started to 'panic'. "Naturally, when you're pregnant and see blood, it's never a good sign," she added.

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The couple rushed to the hospital and were reassured everything was fine, but doctors suggested Sam stay overnight in their care as a precaution. However, at 11am, Sam was told she needed an emergency C-section - and her nightmare became a reality.

"The consultant said 'just to be safe, we're going to whisk you down for an emergency C-section. We don't want to take the chance that it could be anything sinister, so we would advise getting him out'," Sam explained. Wanting to do 'whatever is safest for the baby', Sam agreed - but refused to go into theatre until Tom was by her side.

Sam started crying when she was introduced to Isaac, who was delivered safely after Tom arrived at the hospital. "When his little face popped up over the curtain, it was the realisation that he'd finally got here, was safe and was going to join our family of three to make it four," she said.

Strictly Come Dancing airs every Saturday on BBC One

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