'Strictly' couples share their most stressful moments of the series so far (exclusive)

Watch: Strictly 2021 stars share their most stressful moments on the show

Strictly Come Dancing's couples have been sharing their most nerve-wracking moments on the show, with Tom Fletcher admitting that it has been "quite a stressful experience".

The BBC One contest is notoriously tough on celebrities who have to put in many hours of training each week to have a routine they can present live on a Saturday night, which is judged by the panel and voted for by viewers.

One couple who has had a more stressful time than most is Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden, who had to miss a week due to positive COVID tests early in the series and Fletcher has also been juggling training with a McFly tour, releasing two new children's books and being a dad of three.

Read more: Tom Fletcher's Strictly inspiration is Harry Judd

He told Yahoo UK: "I've had a few (stressful moments)."

Talking about his Salsa, he said: "It was going surprisingly well, I thought I might struggle with that one because it was a bit sexy...then it suddenly just fell apart on a Thursday and that's really the last full training day, so that was a scary day, that was a high stress day.

"Then the Tango fell apart on the actual show, I just didn't dance my best, and then my mic pack came off and fell out, then Amy fell over."

Dowden chipped in: "And also coronavirus..."

Fletcher added: "I mean, you know it's been quite a stressful experience.

"But these are tiny things, overall it's been amazing, i've loved it, but you know that's part of the show, isn't it - I'm learning something brand new that I'd never done before.

"We're competing against other people to stay in something that none of us want to go home so obviously there's always going to be elements of stress in that."

John Whaite shared that he'd had to leave the room and "have a chocolate bar" during Samba training because of his frustration with the dance.

Read more: John Whaite will live life by 'Johannes-isms' after Strictly

But his partner Johannes Radebe said: "He just wants to get it right, I think that's as a teacher, that's a student you want.

"You want to be with somebody who is committed to making it look good, and I think it's a huge respect for what we do so i'm so happy."

Things were a little more chilled in the Dan Walker camp, as he said neither he nor partner Nadiya Bychkova were "stressy people" and that they were just enjoying it after avoiding embarrassing his kids by making sure he wasn't voted out first.

Walker said his children had wanted him to take part for years and he finally said yes to cheer them up after a tough year in and out of school with lockdown.

Read more: Strictly's Tilly Ramsay says mum Tana 'had it harder' in Dancing On Ice

He said: "But i'm just glad I didn't go out in the first week, we could have gone out and that's all my kids said, 'don't go out first week Dad, we'll be so embarrassed', so I didn't go out then."

Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin admitted that it could be stressful balancing training with her first year university exams.

Ramsay added: "The most difficult things have been getting into the mood for Paso and Tango, I find that quite difficult to be serious... I stiffen up a little bit and that's been quite apparent in some of those dances, so I think that's been a big challenge for me."

Watch: Dan Walker says 'I don't expect everybody to like me'