The Wanted’s Max George credits his Strictly Come Dancing stint for helping him through ‘tough two years’

The Wanted star Max George has admitted that his stint on the hit BBC One show, Strictly Come Dancing left him feeling ‘so much better’ after various lockdowns in England were ‘mentally difficult’.

The 33-year-old, who has been training with long-term Strictly pro Katya Jones, said they’re training had left him just ‘fitter and fitter’.

Despite training with Katya, the singer was partnered on the show with Diane Buswell back in 2020, a year after she appeared on the show with now boyfriend Joe Sugg.

George has joined this year’s tour, alongside names such as Matilda Ramsey, after the live tour dates were scrapped due to the pandemic.

Speaking to The Sun, he said: “I’ve been in a lull in lockdown the last two years have been quite difficult mentally for me.

“My fitness waned a lot but I’m getting fitter and fitter now. And I can feel that in my head, I’m feeling so much better now.

“I’ve got a lot of ups rather than downs at the moment. I’m feeling good.”

Max has previously opened up about his mental health, and last year admitted he had been struggling with his mental health for around 10 years, and feel ‘guilty’ and ‘ungrateful’ for feeling unhappy during his tenure as 1/5 of The Wanted.

He isn’t the only band member to have appeared on Strictly, with fellow band-mate Jay McGuiness won the show with partner Aliona Vilani in the thirteenth series of the show, in 2015.

The band, that disbanded in September 2021 are managed by Scooter Braun, who is also the manager of mega stars such as Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, announced they would go on a greatest hits tour, named “Inside My Head” which is a nod to their vocalist, Tom Parker, who has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.