Esther Rantzen says she is still mentally scarred from her Strictly Come Dancing experience. The TV presenter was third to be voted off when she went on the dance show in 2004 and revealed her brief appearance takes a toll on her, six years on. "Appearing on this show is like dangling barefoot over a raging bonfire, praying to hang on, and not to be consumed by the flames - I know, I still bear the mental scars of my own blisters," she wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Esther continued: "I can assure you, if you can't dance (and you never know until you try), having to display your inadequacy before millions live every week is punishment enough. "It's a bitter blow when you realise that no matter how avidly you try to follow your partner, you will never, ever get those steps right, or in the right order." The 70-year-old claimed the glitzy outfits were actually very uncomfortable. "Those glamorous-looking sparkly dresses hide an awful secret. Underneath they are built like the most constricting bathing costumes, knickers and bras attached to each other so that nothing can move or drop off. Once you're in, there's no escape," she recalled. And Esther reckoned sportsmen will do best in the latest dance competition. "Cricketers such as Darren Gough and Mark Ramprakash won their respective series. The combination of muscle memory plus competitiveness gave them a clear advantage, so this year former footballer Peter Shilton and rugby player Gavin Henson should do well," she said.
