Rylan shares terror after discovering snake in his Essex home

Watch: Rylan finds snake in his Essex home

Rylan has spent a terrified, sleepless night after discovering a snake in his Essex home.

The Strictly: It Takes Two presenter shared a video of a small black snake with a white throat - believed to be a grass snake - in front of his patio doors after dark.

Rylan, 33, screamed in a video posted on Instagram: "A f***ing snake in my house! What do you do?! What do you do?!

"Can someone tell me what do I do, I think this is why I shouldn't live alone. I tried to touch it and now it's moving! Oh my God what is this creature? Will it attack? I don't know, I can't deal with it."

Read more: Rylan worries fans after revealing he has been in hospital

Turning the camera on himself he added: "The snake, it's moved away, but I don't think it's gone out, it's gone in the doors. I've been Googling, 'Can you get killed by them?'. Why is this happening? Why there is a snake in my house?

"I knew there was a few snakes in Brentwood but I didn't think there was actual snakes. You don't need this on a hangover!"

The TV presenter - formerly known as Rylan Clark-Neal - later shared a post on Instagram Stories showing himself lying down, topless.

He said: "I can't sleep, I'm frightened that the snake's going to come back."

Rylan then updated: "I fell asleep for about half an hour, and then I dreamt about the snake, that it bit my shoulder, and now I'm awake again."

Grass snakes are native to Britain. They do not bite and are harmless to humans.

Rylan lives alone since he split from his husband Dan Neal in June 2021 following six years of marriage.

At the time the TV presenter — known for fronting revivals of Supermarket Sweep and Ready Steady Cook — stepped away from the spotlight to focus on his mental health.

He took a 10-week break from presenting his BBC Radio 2 Saturday afternoon radio show and pulled out of presenting the BBC's Eurovision live semi-final coverage in May.

Rylan — who found fame on The X Factor under the name Rylan Clark — married ex-police officer Dan Neal in November 2015 after being engaged for a year, and took on his husband's surname.

Read more: Rylan apologises for ‘scaring’ people as he admits pain of break-up

Rylan met Neal when he was a contestant on Big Brother in 2013. Rylan became the host of Big Brother's Bit On The Side on Channel 5 that series, having won Celebrity Big Brother at the beginning of the year.