Former star has opened up about her gritty upbringing in Luton, revealing a youth steeped in the shadows of drugs and crime despite her glamorous turn on the dance floor. The 38-year-old renowned journalist, famed for her gripping Stacey Dooley Investigates series, opened up to about her tumultuous childhood: "Drugs were always available when I was growing up in Luton. My pals did loads of gear. Everyone was taking pills and sniffing coke."

Dooley didn't shy away from detailing the grim realities she faced daily, saying: "Boys would take pills at school in their lunch break. I've witnessed people take heroin. A boy I went out with was heavily involved with dealing coke. I've seen it all." Her chilling account includes the heartbreak of losing a friend to heroin before he even turned 18.

Raised by her resilient mother, Di, after relocating from Liverpool to Luton, Stacey's childhood was overshadowed by constant warnings about the perils of drug abuse.

The tragic overdose of Leah Betts in 1995, who died from ecstasy complications, left a lasting impression, compelling her mother to mount a haunting photo of Leah on their fridge as a daily reminder of the lethal risks associated with drug use.

Amidst this chaos, Stacey unwaveringly avoided drugs, admitting: "I haven't even smoked weed-nothing. Drugs have always scared me."

Dropping out of school at 15 without any qualifications might have set another on a path of despair, but for Stacey, it fuelled her fearless pursuit of exposing global injustices in perilous locations like Congo, Cambodia, and Mexico starting in 2009.

Her fearless approach also saw her detained by police in Japan during a 2016 investigation into child exploitation. More recently, she delved into the UK's burgeoning crisis of juvenile digital drug dealers in her explosive BBC Three documentary, Kids Selling Drugs Online.

The documentary revealed how teens as young as 13 were peddling narcotics on platforms like Snapchat and , netting up to £300 a day.

Stacey's transition to the glitzy world of Strictly Come Dancing was a dramatic shift from her investigative journalism, yet she embraced the glitter ball challenge with open arms, revealing: "My documentaries are harrowing, very straight and serious. That's the work I love. But when Strictly came up, I thought, 'Why not?'"

Despite a tough upbringing, the redhead's journey from humble beginnings to TV star significantly boosted her bank account, with a net worth estimated at around $1 million (£729,000), as per CelebWorth.net.

The documentary maker and Strictly 2018 champion shares two-year-old daughter Minnie with her former dance partner