Tracey Beaker star Dani Harmer reveals she was fat-shamed by Strictly Come Dancing trolls despite her size 6 figure

Dani Harmer Strictly Come Dancing
(Image credit: WireImage)

Tracey Beaker actress Dani Harmer has revealed she was fat-shamed by trolls during her time on Strictly Come Dancing.

The child star who played the lead in CBBC's Tracey Beaker opened up on the cruel comments she received about her weight during her stint on Strictly in 2012, despite having a petite size 6 figure at the time.

"I got so many messages, people telling me that I’m fat, that I’m overweight and I was like a size six at the time," Dani told the Radio Times.

"So I was like, 'Holy moly, if I'm fat, God knows what other people must be thinking if they’re bigger than me', that must be just horrible."

Dani Harmer Strictly Come Dancing

Credit: Getty

Dani, 31, who came fourth in her series of Strictly alongside her pro partner Vincent Simone, added, "I can think of things really logically and be like, obviously, I'm not fat, that's ridiculous.

"This person, obviously, is just bored, or has something wrong with their life that they feel like this is the only way they can get some validation and I actually feel sorry for them.

"I think we’re a bit more open about our mental health states now.

"People are being a bit more honest on their social media pages and using them a bit more responsibly."

Does Dani Harmer have children?

Dani and her boyfriend Simon Brough welcomed their first daughter Avarie-Belle Betsy back in 2016.

Dani regularly shares snaps of little Avarie-Belle on her social media platforms, sparking comments from fans about her likeness to her.

A photo posted by on

'Omfg she looks just like u 😻,' one commenter wrote on a recent snap of the little one.

'Your daughter Avarie belle harmer looks like a Mini Dani,' added another.

'She has that Tracey beaker grin,' a third agreed.

A photo posted by on

Dani is making a return as Tracey in the new CBBC series My Mum Tracey Beaker, in which the famous Dumping Ground kid is all grown up with a daughter of her own.

She's yet to let her own daughter into the world of Tracey Beaker though, admitting Avarie wouldn't be too interested.

"She’s only four. So unless I was actually Princess Elsa or Anna, I don’t think she would care anyway."

Caitlin Elliott
Junior News Editor

Caitlin is a Junior News Editor for Goodto.com, covering all things royal, celeb, lifestyle, food, and family. Having set her sights on becoming a magazine journalist when she was a child, Caitlin took on work experience stints at local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree and has interviews with celebs, reality stars and the Archbishop of Canterbury under her belt (of course, she couldn't resist asking him about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry).