Spookily come dancing: Perfectionist Lauren Steadman admits she has demons in her head

STRICTLY star Lauren Steadman says she’s identified her biggest glitterball rival: herself.

The World Champion Paratriathlete is driving herself on relentlessly and says even reassurance from pro partner AJ Pritchard doesn’t alter her focus.

“I’m my own biggest competition,” Lauren, 25, said. “I’ve got demons in my head. I always want to be better than I am.

“AJ tells me that I’m doing really well but I’ll never be able to get that competitive side out of me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist.”

Lauren and AJ took to the floor with a passionate paso doble to Nicole Scherzinger’s Poison last night, in what is one of Strictly’s biggest weeks of the year.

The Halloween special also saw Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev impress with a fast and fun Charleston and Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton do a tango to the Doctor Who theme.

Comedian Seann Walsh and partner Katya Jones did a Viennese Waltz to I Put A Spell On You. It was their first slow and romantic number since their post-pub kiss made front-page news. There were reports of awkwardness after Seann survived the dance-off last week at the expense of Vick Hope and suggestions the comic wasn’t being supported by other dancers.

But AJ insists that’s certainly not the case with them.

“We support everyone and no one wants anyone to do badly on the live show,” he said. “You know if you were in that situation, you’d want them supporting you.”

While some of the celebrities have taken harsh words from judge Craig Revel Horwood badly, Lauren says she’s happy to take it on the chin. “In my athletic training I’ll even ask for negative feedback to focus on. So while I enjoy the positive comments to give me encouragement for the next week, I really like constructive criticism.”

Lauren, who was born missing her lower right arm, has been inundated with support from other amputees as well as parents of youngsters with disabilities.

And she says the overwhelming response has hit home. “It’s been really emotional and it brings me a sense of happiness,” she admitted. “I’ve had comments from lots of amputees and from parents of kids who are missing an arm.

“They say that I’ve shown that if you have a dream or want to do something, that there’s no excuse and you can achieve it.

“I’ve always felt that if you have the opportunity to inspire, you should use it. You can change somebody’s life for the better.

“I’m a woman on a mission to inspire people.”

Lauren is very much hoping her paso doble will be enough to keep her in the show, as she’s desperate to make the next big milestone: Blackpool. “Getting to Blackpool would be a dream and an honour,” she said. “AJ has won a fair amount of competitions there, so I’d love to dance on the same floor.”

Strictly Come Dancing: The Results, BBC1, tonight at 7.50pm.