Strictly Come Dancing star Robert Webb says show was "a big mistake" after health battle

Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Robert Webb has opened up about his experience on the BBC One show after taking part back in 2021. The 52-year-old was forced to withdraw from the dancing competition due to health concerns after undergoing open heart surgery the year before.

Robert, who is one half of the much-loved comedy duo, Mitchell and Webb, with long-time pal David Mitchell, appeared on series 19 and was paired with Dianne Buswell. However, the pair’s journey came to an end just three weeks into the show.

Now the comedian has revealed his regrets about taking to the dancefloor so soon after his life-changing surgery. Speaking in an interview with The Times, he explained: “Well, these opportunities don’t come along very often. They don’t happen to everyone.

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“And I’d just nearly died, so I thought, this is no time to be sitting on the edges, why don’t you contribute and participate? It all sounded like a good idea at the time. But it all added up to a big mistake."

He added: “On paper I was in quite good shape, but then that schedule just hit me like a sack of dancing potatoes. That schedule is a law unto itself and I just wasn’t anywhere close to being able to do that.

"I don’t even know if I could now. I don’t think it’d be a very good idea. Also, I just couldn’t remember the moves.”

In week one, Robert and Dianne performed a cha-cha-cha and received 20 points from the judges, before taking a giant leap with a score of 27 in week two with their Tango.

During week three, the two performed a Quickstep to The Muppet Show theme for Movie Week but this was sadly their last time dancing together as Robert was forced to withdraw and end his Strictly journey.

In 2020, just a year before taking part on the show, Robert underwent emergency surgery on his heart for a mitral valve prolapse after being diagnosed with the condition at a routine medical check.

According to the NHS, mitral valve prolapse is when the flaps of the mitral valve bulge into the heart’s left atrium when the heart squeezes, potentially causing blood to leak backwards. This can lead to shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue and an irregular heartbeat.

In 2023, Robert’s wife and fellow comedian Abigail Burdess opened up about her concerns of him doing the show just a year after having heart surgery.

She expressed: “I did think he was crazy to go on Strictly having recently undergone massive heart surgery, but he wanted to feel like he could do it. His cardiologist made him stop, but it was wonderful watching him dance and the kids got so into it.

“His partner, Dianne Buswell, looked after him very well. People asked me if I was worried about the Strictly curse, which I found totally ridiculous.

“Dancing 12 hours a day, Rob wouldn’t have had the energy. I don’t think the curse applies to the middle-aged.”

The couple got married in 2006 after working together on BBC Two comedy show, The Bleak Shop of Old Stuff and are parents to two daughters.

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