BBC Strictly Come Dancing star Montell Douglas shares 'really difficult' hidden health battle

Strictly Come Dancing star Montell Douglas has opened up about the 'really difficult' hidden health battle she has been dealing with behind the scenes. The Gladiators star spoke about suffering from debilitating period pain as she appeared on Loose Women with her Strictly dance partner Johannes Radebe on Wednesday.

Montell, 38, shared how she had been left doubled up in pain - and revealed doctors still don't know the cause behind her excruciating period pains. The star, who ended up in the dance-off last week much to the shock of viewers, was asked about her experience dealing with the pain while dancing on the BBC show and said medical teams had 'still not got the bottom of it'.

She admitted: "It's really difficult because it's something that, especially more recently especially this year I've spoken out about it a bit more because I think like many other I just thought it was normal for me. I remember being on the track doubled up in pain just thinking it was normal and I had to just carry on.

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"And it was only until someone was like 'No, it's not, you can say' and then I sought advice and started speaking about it. It's something that you're challenged with.

"It's tough when your learning something that's brand new and then you've got other things going on. The focus is slightly different."

Montell has spoken candidly about the severe impact her 'agonising' periods have, revealing she was even hospitalised with the pain. The Team GB Olympian, known as Fire on the hit BBC One series Gladiators, previously shared: "That hospitalisation for me was a kind of wake-up call. My body just started convulsing, and I was almost passing out, because the pain was so intense.

"I was overheating because of the hormones my body couldn't control its temperature, and that in turn made me dehydrated. The pain was in waves, coming in like contractions."

Speaking on This Morning she previously said: "It can be quite disruptive in your daily life, but for me, as a sports person as well, it's been really challenging to manage the symptoms of the mental anguish I'm going through trying to perform and also just dealing with me just making sure I'm appropriately dressed and covered, that I know I'm going to be fine for performing.

"You can be at the Olympic games, therefore a three week period, I then know, actually, I'm going to have that experience at least once while I'm there. Whether I'm flying for like a 13 hour flight, whether I'm coming home or performing, it can be quite difficult."