Vicky Pattison says her stint on Strictly has been the perfect preparation for becoming a parent as she finally puts to bed the ghosts of her past.

The telly star has been dogged by self doubt when it comes to her career, and body confidence issues have left her worrying about her appearance “from a criminally young age”.

But that all changed when she signed up for Strictlyand now she says she’s ready for her next chapter, becoming a mum for the first time.

In an exclusive chat with the Sunday Mirror, Vicky praised her loyal husband, Ercan Ramadan, and admits while she’s anxious about the impact a baby will have on their marriage, she knows she’s ready.

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“I love him so much,” she says during rehearsals for Strictly’s nationwide tour. “I’m so ready. I still have a part of me that feels fear about closing a chapter of my life without children and going on to the next one, you know what I mean?

"I love our marriage, our relationship, our dogs and the little life we’ve got now, we’re so blessed. I do worry about that dynamic changing because I’m very happy as it is. So I’m always like, 'Oh gosh, maybe one more summer of fun?’ But I turned 38 back in November and with these things, you don’t have the luxury of time.

“I do think that will be in the back of my mind on the tour, I’m certainly going to enjoy myself because this time next year who knows, we might have started our family, if we’re blessed enough to be able to do so.”

It’s the next chapter in an impressive life which saw Vicky explode onto the small screen in 2011 when she joined the cast of MTV’s Geordie Shore.

She quickly became synonymous with the show’s party-loving lifestyle, but has firmly left that part of her life behind, winning I’m A Celebrity in 2015 andmore recently with a raft of hosting jobs and campaigning work.

And Vicky admits the “final piece of the puzzle” was landing a spot on last year’s Strictly as she got to show TV audiences how much she’s changed.

She was paired with Kai Widdrington, whoshe’ll be reunited with on the tour which kicks off in Birmingham next weekend.

They had a rollercoaster of a ride in the competition which saw the Geordie favourite go from hero to zero as she topped the leaderboard in week seven only to get the boot the following week.

Regardless of her premature exit from the competition, Vicky says Strictly has been truly transformative,not just for her career but personally too.

She admits: “As a woman, I've worried about my body from a criminally young age. Being aware of my body since I was about 11. But I can honestly say Strictly's helped me really feel a level of contentment and comfort about my body. I'm not worried about what my legs look like or me cellulite or anything like that, or a bingo wing.

“The whole show is a celebration of what your body is physically capable of, what you can learn, what you can achieve. And that's actually a liberating feeling for a woman, to get out of her head and stop seeing herself as something that has to be desired or loved. It's been a liberating feeling of acceptance about my body.”

She's also accepted that nerves play a massive part in her life, regularly admitting she was battling to keep calm as she danced in front of the nation.

But Vicky says she hopes she’s shown women watching at home that on the other side of nerves can be pride in your achievements.

“I think going from being so anxious and so completely overwhelmed and almost just crippled with nerves to the top of the leaderboard in one of my final weeks, was just incredible,” Vicky confesses.

“Meeting all the lovely people I met, wearing all the gorgeous costumes, learning a new skill, and getting a bit soppy with it, proving to myself that I was capable of doing things that I didn’t think I was. I’m really proud that I was transparent. I could have gone out there every week and acted like I was confident and everything was fine, but that’s not me.

“I think by showing my vulnerabilities and my fear and all those things, hopefully I’ve encouraged some other people to get out there and do something that scares them as well. Because on the other side of that fear is something amazing. It’s pride, it’s a sense of achievement. It’s been amazing and I really loved it.”

She adds: “I went and presented Stand Up for Cancer not long after I left Strictly and that is something that would have absolutely terrified me at the start of the year.

“Hosting in front of a live audience and with huge names like Clare Balding, Adam Hills and Davina McCall, I just don’t think that would have been something I had in me locker. I would have been so grateful for the opportunity and I would have let my nerves get the better of me.

“Because of Strictly, doing this huge production and with a giant audience and all these things, I’m far less afraid. I still feel butterflies in my tummy, I still get anxious, I still get nervous, but that’s because I want to do things well and that’s because these things are scary. But ultimately, I know I can do it. It’s given us a real confidence, a real sense of self, so I’m extremely grateful for that as well.”

Vicky, who has her own podcast as well as regularly presenting on Heart Radio, knows hosting on TV is part of her future.

And with two jobs up for grabs on Strictly, is that a challenge she’s ready to take on?

“Like everyone, I am such a huge fan of Tess and Claudia,” she says. “I don’t know who’s going to fill their shoes, it is a tall order. If I ever got the call, I would feel unbelievably flattered. Of course, I’d give it my best college try.

“But ultimately, I do think there’s probably a queue of people far more qualified and professional in front of me at the moment.”

For now she’s focused on the 30 date tourwhich will see her travel the country performing in arenas from Glasgow to London’s O2.

And she’s fully expecting it to be one big party after the pressure of the main series.

Vicky laughs: “I had been told by all my friends like Angela Scanlon and Sara Davies and everybody else, do the tour, it’s so much fun.

“You’ll absolutely love it, it’s nothing like the show. All the pressures are off, you get to do the fun bit, the dancing, and spend time with all your friends and your dance partner and everybody, and there’s no pressure.

“But actually, I am starting to get those little nerves creeping back in again, which I’m sure will go away once I do a couple of shows. I’m feeling very excited but very nervous too. But that is just who I am. And I suppose the nerves are part of it, aren’t they?

“I’m not a natural performer. I never have been. And the more of these things I do, the more I push myself out of my comfort zone, maybe the less nervous I’ll be. So I’m hoping that’ll happen very quickly and I’ll just be able to enjoy it.”

One element that still sends shivers through her bones is facing the judges again.

Vicky and the cast, which includes finalist George Clarke and former Emmerdale star Lewis Cope, will be judged by Anton Du Beke, Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood. And while Vicky’s nervous about seeing them again, she knows one woman who is relishing the chance to chat to them without the nation watching at home.

Vicky explains: “The judges still terrify me! It doesn’t matter if there’s cameras or not.

“Anton doesn’t, he’s always been my pal, I love him. But Shirley and Craig, they strike fear into my heart, so there’s no way I’ll just be scared little ball like I always am. But I’m really looking forward to seeing La Voix give them a little bit of back chat, a little bit of spice.

“Although I thought she did that on the show, so I dread to think what we’re in for without the cameras!”

One thing is for sure, when the tour reaches Vicky’s home town of Newcastle, she’s ready to raise the roof with her Cheryl Tweedy inspired Couple’s Choice routine.

And she can’t wait to dance for her fellow Geordies.

She said: “I loved my homage to Cheryl because as everybody knows how much of a fangirl I am when it comes to her.

"Cheryl’s a hard one to do. It’s a hard dance. There’s a lot of movement. I’m very on my own. It’s very independent.

“So I am feeling a little bit of anxiety about doing it justice there, but I’m just keeping all my fingers crossed that the crowd, the energy, the vibes, maybe from Newcastle, Cheryl being a Geordie hero, I’m hoping all of that will just come together and make it amazing.”

Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour, 23 January to 15 February. Venues and tickets: StrictlyComeDancingLive.com