Seann Walsh has said his “bad experience” on Strictly Come Dancing almost stopped him from appearing on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! this year.

The 37-year-old comedian, who made headlines in October 2018 when he was pictured kissing his Strictly professional partner, Katya Jones, said he found the idea of another reality show “terrifying”.

At the time he was in a relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries, while Jones was married to fellow Strictly dancer Neil Jones.

Seann Walsh and his partner Grace Adderley
Seann Walsh and his partner, Grace Adderley (Hello!/PA)

Walsh, who made it to the final five in I’m A Celebrity, said it was his pregnant partner, Grace Adderley, who eventually persuaded him to take part in the Australian jungle challenge.

He told Hello! magazine: “Grace said to me ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The adventure itself will make it worthwhile’ – and she was absolutely right.

“I was so petrified of getting backlash. I’d had such a bad experience with all the things that were said about me last time (I did a reality show), the idea of that happening again was terrifying.”

During the show, Walsh spoke with campmates about the backlash he had received after the controversial Strictly kiss drama, with his agent saying his “career was dead”.

He told fellow comedian Babatunde Aleshe: “It was easily the most depressing month of my entire life, Edinburgh after Strictly.

Strictly Come Dancing 2018
Seann Walsh in Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 (Ray Burmiston/PA)

“Just before I’m about to go on (and do a show), my agent comes in and goes ‘Just so you know, there’s like 30 people’.”

Walsh was a late entrant to I’m A Celebrity, joining as an undercover mole alongside former health secretary Matt Hancock after the other stars had arrived.

Former England footballer Jill Scott was named Queen of the Jungle in the final of the ITV reality show, beating Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner to the title.

Walsh said: “Jill was my winner – she was everyone’s winner – and I’m so grateful that the jungle enabled me to meet someone like her because I doubt I would have done so in my normal job.”

– Read the full article in Hello! magazine.