Toyah Willcox has suffered from a range of health conditions throughout her life (Picture: Ray Burmiston/PA Wire)
Strictly Come Dancing star Toyah Willcox has opened up about her decades-long health struggle and how she was finally able to feel some relief.
The 80s pop icon, 66, dazzled her way onto TV screens this weekend when Strictly returned for its 20th-anniversary series.
Joining Toyah in the glitzy line-up are Chris McCausland, Jamie Borthwick, Sam Quek, Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Paul Merson, Nick Knowles, Sarah Hadland, and more, who are all competing to lift the coveted glitterball trophy.
Toyah earned her spot on the bill as a music legend, with a career spanning over 40 years and including eight top 40 singles, over 20 albums, and 40 stage plays.
Away from the bright lights of showbiz, however, the musician previously endured a chronic health battle.
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Toyah has made no secret of other obstacles she’s faced health-wise in her life, having been born with a twisted spine, a clubbed right foot, and one leg shorter than the other.
Toyah is partnered with long-standing pro Neil Jones on Strictly 2024 (Picture: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
What she found most debilitating, though, was insomnia, which began taking its toll when she was just 14.
Speaking The Mirror, Toyah – whose Strictly partner is Neil Jones – explained that the condition was first triggered by exam stress.
‘I experienced the typical teenage stress that the pressure of cramming for exams, and then sitting there for hours on end doing them brings,’ Toyah said.
‘During what felt like a solid month of exam papers, I just stopped sleeping. Once the pattern set in, it became a habit and I never really addressed it because back then no one really talked about insomnia. You’d just had a bad night’s sleep.’
Toyah’s insomnia progressed, and soon the hours she slept each night ‘had whittled down from five to three.’
‘I hit this pattern where I’d only reach deep sleep between about 8 to 10am and I still have that routine today,’ she confessed.
According to the NHS, a healthy adult usually needs around seven to nine hours of sleep, with insomnia defined as a common sleep disorder with symptoms including struggling to fall asleep, waking up several times during the night, and feeling tired during the day.
The 80s pop icon has battled insomnia for decades (Picture: C Brandon/Redferns)
Toyah’s troubles continued through her time at drama school. As her schedule became busier when she joined a punk band, though, she realised lack of …read more
Source:: Metro
