Lauren Steadman would rather do ‘Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins’ "10 times" than return to the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ ballroom.
The Paralympic triathlete was crowned the co-winner of the gruelling Channel 4 challenge on Monday (25.05.20) night, and despite the programme being notoriously difficult, she has said she enjoyed it far more than learning to dance for the BBC Latin and ballroom dance competition, which she appeared on in 2018.
Lauren was paired with AJ Pritchard on ‘Strictly’ and made it all the way to the semi-finals, but said she’d rather be "caked in mud and sweat" than in "fake tan and sequins".
She said: "I’d rather do ‘SAS’ 10 times than go back and do ‘Strictly’.
"I loved doing both and on ‘Strictly’ it was about being proud of who I am and inspiring people – I got to be a beautiful, glitzy, glamorous girl.
"But I wanted to show you can be girly and sporty, and ‘SAS’ just resonated more with me.
"I’d rather be caked in mud and sweat than fake tan and sequins – I found that tough on ‘Strictly’."
Lauren – who was born without her lower right arm – embraced the pain during her time on ‘SAS’, and said her motivation for continuing the journey was her desire for a "peachier bum".
She added: "I remember there was one point when we were climbing a hill, with canoes on our backs, and were in agony.
"I kept thinking, ‘The more this hurts, the peachier my bum is going to be – and a stronger bum means I’ll be really strong for the Tokyo Paralympics’.
"In a strange way I loved being in pain on SAS because the ability to withstand it is what allows you to go further than the next person and that’s what gets you on the podium."
And whilst she isn’t keen on heading back to ‘Strictly’, Lauren hasn’t ruled out appearing on other reality shows, as she’d "love" to try baking for ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
She told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: "I’d love to go on ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
"Baking was something I did with my grandma for a very long time. She passed away last year and it means the world to me.
"It’s easy to bake a cake in your kitchen because you have all the time in the world.
But then when Paul Hollywood is there watching it’s another matter.
"Fortunately, I haven’t ever suffered from a soggy bottom."