James Jordan reveals he suffered anxiety attacks after his dad's death

James Jordan has opened up on the anxiety attacks he suffered in the wake of his beloved dad's death - but said becoming a father himself has helped him to cope.

The former Strictly Come Dancing pro dancer became a dad for the first time with wife Ola Jordan last year after an IVF journey, but devastatingly, his dad Allan Jordan was diagnosed with a stage four brain tumour just afterwards and died in March this year.

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Jordan told The Sun that the last year had been full of mixed emotions, welcoming daughter Ella just two weeks before lockdown began and then losing his dad, who he was very close to, earlier this year.

He said: "I felt very weak, my eyesight was affected, I was waking up in the middle of the night thinking someone had broken into our house, I had a snooker cue by the bed, I was suffering with anxiety massively.

“I was just in a really bad place, I would usually class myself as quite a strong person, but it was out of my control, and I found that really difficult.

“I was going down a dark path, and eventually Ola smacked me out of it which was good."

Jordan, who had been trying for a baby with dancer wife Ola for three years, described it as "the darkest, most horrible time of my life" and said he hadn't realised how powerful grief could be.

He said that he had always understood how important mental health was, but had been shocked at the physical effects that anxiety had had on him.

However, in his Father's Day interview he said that daughter Ella had provided him with some hope for the future and helped him to recover.

Talking about his one-year-old, he said that she had been "a godsend" and that having to see his dad in such a bad way in his final months but being able to come home to his own family was "medicine for me".

Jordan has worked hard to raise awareness for The Brain Tumour Charity in tribute to his dad, having his head shaved by Ola as a fundraiser earlier this year.

Watch: Ola Jordan shaves James's lockdown locks live on TV