Strictly It Takes Two presenter Ellie Taylor has revealed that her two-year-old son was rushed to hospital after he began struggling to breathe during a family holiday on the Sussex coast.
The comedian and actress, 42, who recently landed the job of hosting the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off, shared the news on social media. She explained that her son's cough had suddenly become much worse, writing that her little boy had "decided to upgrade his mild cough to full blown struggling-to-breathe croup", forcing the family to make a trip to Chichester A&E.
Hospital dash and a bloody fall
Ellie, who is married to CNN host Phil Black and has an eight-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son, joked about the stressful situation: "I've been to AandE five times with this child and it's always when I'm serving make-up-free and knackered hag."
Thankfully, the pair were able to return home by midnight, with Ellie saying they were "determined to crack on and enjoy a few days on the beach after all the lovely sun we've had."
But the holiday drama was far from over. When her son appeared to be feeling better, the family decided to venture out for dinner. However, disaster struck again when he fell on gravel on the way to the restaurant. Ellie explained: "croupy child seemed a little perkier so we thought we'd try out dinner. YAY. But then obviously he fell over on the gravel on the way and cut his leg. Boo."
Dinner disaster and a family joke
Sharing a picture of his blood-stained pink T-shirt, she added: "Here is me after being a human plaster for his hurty knee after I carried him the rest of the way." The meal didn't go according to plan either. "He wailed throughout the meal which lasted approximately 12mins. Shortly after this I spilt my drink over my phone and said 'for f**** sake' louder than is OK for a family restaurant."
Summing up the trip, Ellie said: "I'd say the hols was 46% endurance, 29% coughing and 13% saying 'we used to have such a nice life." She concluded: "Nothing like being on holiday dreaming of being on holiday. Are you even a mother if you haven't said the phrase "Everyone's getting on my t*ts" at least once by the time the breakfast buffet opens."
Ellie was announced as the new host of Strictly: It Takes Two just days ago, taking over from Fleur East and Janette Manrara. She previously competed on Strictly in 2022, finishing seventh with professional dancer Johannes Radebe. Speaking to new Strictly host Emma Willis on BBC Radio 2, Ellie said: "I'm absolutely over the moon, I feel giddy. The energy around Strictly is such a joy and I'm just thrilled to be back. It's a dream come true. I'm just thrilled to be back in the Strictly world and I'm so excited about It Takes Two this year. It's going to be refreshed – it will be really lovely to showcase the camaraderie between celebs."
