Strictly Come Dancing's Tom Dean says 'gruelling' show regime is taking mental toll

Olympic gold medallist Tom Dean admits training for Strictly is much harder than he expected and has compared to 'that lead-up to Paris'

Triple gold medal winner Tom Dean has revealed the gruelling Strictly regime is like training for the Olympic Games – except he is way out of his comfort zone.

The 24-year-old freestyle swimmer was expecting the tough physical challenge, with long hours, early starts and strict nutrition, but says the mental toll has shocked him the most.

Just a couple of weeks into rehearsals with dance partner Nadiya Bychkvoa, 35, Tom says: “It feels like I’m back in that lead-up to Paris.” Tom, an MBE, admits: “We’re working hard. We’re both sportspeople, we know what it’s like to do a tough day of training, so I do think being an athlete helps. So it feels like I’m back in the pool training, but on land this time. But it’s the mental challenge I find really hard.

“Learning the steps, getting it wrong, not knowing why you’re getting it wrong. That is almost like a bit of a mental drain. I’ve never danced in my life, I’m out of my comfort zone. Sometimes the thought creeps into my mind, ‘What are you doing? You need to be in a pool’.”

Despite years of hard training, Strictly Come Dancing has still hit him physically. He says: “I think what surprised me is being sore in areas I’ve never been sore.

“As swimmers, it’s all shoulders and upper body, but I had really sore knees last week. I’ve never had sore knees in my life. And ­blisters! You don’t get blisters swimming – goggle marks and that’s about it. I’m drenched in sweat by the end of a training session. Then Nadiya’s like, ‘let’s run it again. A minute break, then we’ll run it again’.

“Now I’m back to my Olympic training calorie intake – two big breakfasts, a big lunch, snacks, a big dinner, then I’ve got to eat right before I go to bed, like a big bowl of cereal. I just wasn’t expecting to get back into that routine so soon.”

Nadiya, who calls them Team Golden, adds: “He’s the best student. I met one of Tom’s former coaches and he told me Tom is the most coachable person I’ll ever meet. He listens, tries to do it, nothing is a problem, nothing is too difficult.”

The pair, who scored 23 last week, will do a cha-cha-cha on Saturday to Boogie Wonderland. Tom admits his biggest fear is not doing justice to all their hard work. He says: “You want that day when you race to be exactly how you’ve trained. My coach used to say, ‘Just go out and get what you deserve’.

“I’m not a professional dancer, no one’s expecting me to set the world on fire. The only pressure is what I’m putting on myself to want to do a good performance.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday, BBC1, 6.15pm.