Bula & Ballroom! NADIA 'S SURPRISE FOR MUM

She cooked up the best birthday present ever

- Sophie Neville

Her body is aching in places she never knew existed, she’s averaging just a couple of hours sleep a night and the terror of performing is as real as ever. But ask celebrity chef Nadia Lim if she’s having second thoughts about her decision to compete in this year’s Dancing with the Stars, and the answer is an emphatic “no!”

“It’s the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on,” she tells. “I’m not a dancer, I’m not a performer and I’m definitely not a natural athlete, so I couldn’t be further out of my comfort zone. But I’m loving learning a new skill and even though it’s hard, I am having fun. And that’s the most important thing. There’s no point doing anything if it’s not fun!”

But it’s an exhausted Nadia, 33, who answers the phone for our chat at 7am the morning after last week’s elimination episode. Even though she’s fighting a nasty cold, has pulled her oblique muscle and hurt her ribs, the show must go on – she’s already in the make-up chair preparing to film a My Food Bag promotion, before she has to rush to meet dance partner Aaron at 9am for their daily six-hour rehearsal session.

Add to the chaos her two darling boys Bodhi, three, and River, seven months, and Nadia admits the word “busy” doesn’t come close to describing their household at the moment.