Dr Zoe Williams is a popular addition to ITV’s This Morning team, where she advises the nation on all things medical. But she has now exclusively revealed that she sometimes wishes she could drop the “doctor” title and appear on TV as just “Zoe”.
The former Gladiators star has struck up a close friendship with Strictly Come Dancing star AJ Odudu and said she’d like to perform with her on stage, or possibly connect with her for a TV show of their own.
“I don’t even know what the TV show would be, but I think it seems like an opportunity to be part of a TV show where I’m not there as the medical expert,” she explained.
“Instead of being Dr Zoe, I’d just get to be Zoe.”
She added: “There’s a big side of my personality and who I am that doesn’t get an opportunity to shine on This Morning or when I do Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, because we all have these different personas that we rely upon, depending on what role we’re playing.
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“It would be great to make some TV, something fun, with some mates, and get to show people Zoe.”
The 40-year-old has always had a passion for dance, taking lessons as a child – but she was forced to give it up due to a lack of money in her family.
“I always wanted to be a doctor but I also wanted to be a dancer on Top of the Pops [TOTP]when I was little,” she explained.
“I’ve just always loved dancing. I got to do it myself as a child but we had to stop when I left primary school because we couldn’t afford for me to do it.
“I’ve never danced since, but I’ve always watched Strictly, and I used to watch Come Dancing when it was Angela Rippon back in the 80s… which most people won’t even remember,” she mused.
She is adamant that I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! will not feature on her wish-list, and the prospect of getting covered in creepy-crawlies is highly unlikely to happen any time soon.
“100 per cent definitely not,” she clarified, “but the reason I would go on Strictly is because I would get to learn to dance.
“That would be the motivator, rather than a TV show, to have an opportunity to get to dance like that.”
Zoe hasn’t solely been a doctor in the past, and she had her first taste of TV stardom on the Sky show Gladiators decades ago.
“You had to be your character,” she recalled of the “nerve-wracking” role.
“I was Amazon, so I had to be a tough, strong, confident Amazonian woman. My knees were shaking and I was terrified, but I wasn’t allowed to show that.”
Zoe has also experienced nerves while filming This Morning, but welcoming co-stars such as host Holly Willoughby have helped to calm her down.
On the strictly medical side of her career, she has just launched a campaign together with skincare brand Doublebase, which aims to help those with skin conditions such as psorasis and eczema.
The TV star recommends using “a good emollient” multiple times a day to boost the chances of problem-free skin.
Meanwhile, she knows what the best part of her current TV role is.
“In my clinic, I can help 40 people a day, but on This Morning, I can make it relevant to potentially millions of people.”