Yahoo News Strictly's Katie Piper reveals injuries affect training
The new series of Strictly Come Dancing will welcome Katie Piper to the dancefloor, but she's recently admitted that training is proving difficult due to her acid attack injuries.
Piper, who presented Channel 4's Bodyshockers, was attacked with sulphuric acid back in 2008. She was subsequently put into an induced coma for 12 days and received a number of skin grafts to combat the burn effects.
Ahead of her time in the Strictly ballroom, Piper has discussed the trouble she's encountered while preparing for her new role.
"The respiratory problem makes training a bit harder," she told The Mirror.
"I tried to practise some steps and can't really move my head back because of a band of scar tissue that starts at the top of my head."
The 34-year-old, who was left partially blind following the attack, is slightly anxious about how her performances will be received by viewers, explaining: "Everyone will be like, 'Why's she pulling that funny face?' and I'll be like, 'No, that's my face!'"
She went on: "It will be hard with my eyesight. If you cover one eye and think you can't see your peripheral, that is harder with dancing, steps and anticipating your partner. I'm like an elephant with no rhythm. When I was practising, I was stamping on feet and banging into people."
However, the ex-model's fighting spirit is sure to win over fans, as she added: "I'll just have to work really hard at the training."
Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One this autumn.
Katie is founder of the Katie Piper Foundation, established in 2009 to help people with burns and scars reconnect with their lives and their communities. Find out more about the foundation's work at its official website.
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