Tony Adams: ‘It’s miracle I didn’t run to pub to drown sorrows after Strictly Come Dancing disaster’

Tony Adams says it is a “miracle” he didn’t get drunk after he froze during his first turn on the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ ballroom.

The 56-year-old former Arsenal and England captain – 26 years sober after his years of drink and drug addiction – told The Sun on Sunday (16.10.22) he was amazed he had not “run” to the pub to “drown” his sorrow.

Tony added he cried a “lot” after his initial dance disaster which saw him and pro partner Katya Jones, 33, placed bottom of the BBC show’s leaderboard, with the pair scoring only 15 out of 40 for their tango.

He said: “When that first dance went the way it did, in the car home, I’m going, ‘This is tough, what am I doing?’

“It’s a miracle I didn’t run to the pub and drown all that sorrow. It was painful. I’ve cried a lot, but it was all right. You come out the other side.

“So I’ve grown emotionally through the experience because it’s a challenge.

“Katya has been perfect for me, to push all my buttons and show me how strong I am.”

Tony hailed Katya for “blending” discipline and dance dills with “head stuff and psychology” to improve his performance.

He has since won over viewers by performing a ‘Full Monty’ routine, and Tony and Katya’s American Smooth to ‘With a Little Help from my Friends’ by Joe Cocker on Saturday night’s show (15.10.22) landed them their highest score yet of 26.

Katya told The Sun about buying Tony socks to cheer him up and not having time to constantly praise his efforts: “We work together. After a mistake it’s about having a good chat then going forward.

“Once the dance is done, let’s move on to the next one. Tony requires about 200% praise, which is not possible in this very intense learning process.

“Everything can’t be amazing all the time. So I just get him socks. I said to him that every week we get through I’ll get him a pair of new socks.

“The ones this week have got our faces on. That puts a smile on his face.”