31 August 2023 , 20:23
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Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington has shared she suffered "a lot of anxiety" after a family emergency.
The actress, 51, had a heartbreaking time when her dad was hospitalised before her appearance on the BBC dance show. Amanda took to her social media to share the worrying news that her dad had been really ill. Posting in June, she shared her father had been taken to hospital and that it had caused her anxiety.
Amanda shared: "I haven’t posted in a while, my dad has been really ill. He’s been in hospital and he has not been well at all and it all was very awful for a while. He’s out now, but he has still got a long road to recovery and he needs to make some massive life changes if he is going to keep being on the planet. So, there’s been lots of things going on that have caused a lot of anxiety and I am quite an anxious person.”
Amanda shared the impact the family emergency had on her anxiety (amanda_abbington74/Instagram)
The actress is set to make her Strictly debut (Dave Benett/Getty Images)The Sherlock star said the challenging time had caused a "bad bout" of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is a condition she has struggled with for over 30 years. “It just knocks you out and it’s horrible. It can debilitate you and make you feel like s**t for quite a while," she told her fans. According to the NHS, IBS is a common condition that affects the digestive system and causes symptoms like stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.
There's no cure, but diet changes and medicines can often help control the symptoms. However, nothing has worked for Amanda as she says her IBS flares up due to anxiety. She shared: “It manifests itself physically, but it’s all emotional." Last week Amanda suffered from "vicious" food poisoning as she asked her followers for help ahead of her Strictly debut. "Food poisoning. Particularly vicious one," she wrote over a black background, adding: "Any tips on how to feel back to normal [would be] greatly appreciated." She signed the urgent message off with two sick face emojis and praying hands.
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Amanda's health battle comes after she landed in hot water with fans after comments she made about a child in a drag performance. Slamming 'transphobic' claims, she wrote: "Apparently I'm trending on Twitter. I'm not on Twitter anymore. I left voluntarily because I don't like it over there anymore.
"I’m trending because people are going to boycott Strictly and I think it's because of a tweet I made back in March regarding a drag show. Now, I need to make this very clear. I love drag. I think it's an amazing form of entertainment and I f***ing love drag queens. I think they're hilarious and brilliant, and it's an art form. And I think there's absolutely a place for it in the entertainment industry."
Amanda added: "I’ve said stupid things, of course I have, and I instantly regretted them. Everybody is learning. We need to take a breath and take a beat. So I'm sorry if you feel like you need to boycott Strictly for a tweet I made about a drag show but I don't think 12-year-olds should be doing overly-sexualised drag acts. That's my personal opinion and I'm not pushing it on anyone else."