Emmerdale actor Lawrence Robb has admitted to pre-show anxiety and nightmares about failing ahead of his first live performance on Strictly Come Dancing.
The 34-year-old Scottish actor is paired with professional dancer Jowita Przystał for the 24th series of the competition.
The couple is set to perform a Paso Doble to Harry Styles' song Aperture.
The live show is scheduled to broadcast on BBC One at 6:15 p. m.
on September 26, 2026.
The series began last week with 15 celebrity contestants.
Details of Robb's nervousness surfaced after his Emmerdale co-star Danny Miller posted a secretly recorded video on Instagram showing a candid conversation between the two actors backstage.
In the video caption, Miller wrote that while his friend might have a hidden talent, he had a hidden camera and could not help asking daunting questions ahead of Robb's debut dance.
During the recorded exchange, Miller asked Robb how he would handle falling on stage in front of an estimated eight million viewers during the broadcast.
"Oh shut the front door. I don't know.
Are you trying to make me feel anxious?" Robb said.
The actor acknowledged that he was significantly more likely to forget his routine than to physically trip on the ballroom floor during the live show.
"100 per cent," Robb said.
Beyond his current anxiety, Robb explained that his primary motivation for joining the competition was his family's enthusiasm for the television show.
"The number one factor I think would be my mum, my gran, and my partner.
My mum is arguably more excited about it than I am, and for someone that is going to host Strictly parties every Saturday, I kind of feel like I owe it to her to do at least relatively well so she can carry on hosting them!"
Robb said.
Addressing his background, Robb noted that his prior training involved musical theater at the Dance School of Scotland building rather than direct ballroom or Latin instruction.
"Lacklustre at best... Between singing, dancing, and acting, I would place dancing right down at the bottom.
But my gosh can I carve up a wedding dance floor with gusto!" Robb said.
He expressed hope that he might adapt quickly to the training despite his lack of formal ballroom experience.
"I trained under the umbrella of the Dance School of Scotland, but that was doing musical theatre in the same building - I didn't train at the Dance School, so I’ve never done any Latin or Ballroom.
There is a part of me where I hope I might take to it like a duck to water, but I think that may be a pipe dream!"
Robb said.
The current series of Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
