I wanted to break own leg to exit Strictly, says singer with ‘horrific’ PTSD

Will Young says he has spent £500,000 on therapy after trauma at birth triggered condition

WILL YOUNG left Strictly Come Dancing because he was suffering from “horrific” post-traumatic stress disorder, he has disclosed, admitting that he considered breaking his own leg as an excuse to withdraw from the show.

When the singer abruptly quit the BBC show in October last year, he said it was for “personal reasons”. It was rumoured that a fallout with his dance partner, Karen Clifton, was behind the departure, or that it followed an on-air spat with judge Len Goodman.

But in an interview for Bryony Gordon’s Mad World podcast, Young shared the full extent of his PTSD, saying he had spent £500,000 on mental health treatment over the course of his adult life. He feels his PTSD was first caused by being separated as a newborn from his twin brother, Rupert, who was ill at birth and placed in an incubator.

“Now, with twins, they’ll wrap them up together, but then they didn’t. It was pretty heavy. We came to life together and then [my brother] got pneumonia and was very ill,” he said. Young’s PTSD was then exacerbated by his time at a “vicious” prep school. It recurred while he was competing in Strictly. He developed a stammer and became fearful of going to the studio. “I was really ill. I was dragging myself to rehearsals. I just couldn’t do it any more. It was so bad I thought – I’m not joking – I thought about breaking my leg,” the 38-year-old said, adding that he did not want to say he was quitting because of PTSD because he “didn’t want it used as fodder”. Young was diagnosed with the condition while appearing in a West End production of Cabaret in 2012 and felt suicidal. He said his treatment has included seeing a shaman and “shaking therapy”, explaining: “Animals, if they get attacked and survive, will shake and shake off the trauma.” On the cost of therapy, which has included three stays in a clinic, Young said: “It’s really expensive. I’ve probably spent at least half a million quid on therapy.”