Dragons’ Den’s Sara Davies barely dodged life-changing health condition after going ‘downhill’

Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies has revealed she was on the cusp of developing early-onset diabetes.

The 40-year-old businesswoman is the founder and owner of Crafter’s Companion, then going on to join the BBC reality business programme in 2019.  

Two years later Sara appeared on Strictly Come Dancing where she was paired with Aljaž Škorjanec.

She’s now spoken about how she managed to get ‘on top’ of her health during her time on the series after being told she was at higher risk of type two diabetes.

Sara has said that she was ‘running a lot and eating well’ but that changed after being eliminated from the series.

‘I had gestational diabetes in both my pregnancies, which meant that I’m at a higher risk of type two diabetes in later life, and I need to get my BMI comfortably under 30 to be healthy,’ she said.

‘In the run-up to Strictly, I got really on top of it. I was running a lot and eating well, all because I was in a routine, so I got in great shape.

‘But then, after I did Strictly, I lost the routine, I lost the motivation and I went back downhill,’ she added when speaking to Prima.

Sara then ‘saw the weight pile back on’, adding that each year she undergoes a HbA1C check which tells her how close her blood sugar levels are to early-onset diabetes.

‘And last year, my HbA1C was right on the borderline,’ she explained.

According to Diabetes UK, a HbA1c measures your ‘average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months’, and if it is in the higher end than a person can develop diabetes-related issues.

Sara described herself as a ‘yo-yo dieter’ and while she’d considered losing weight before appearing on Dragons’ Den, eventually decided she was ‘happy with how I look’.

She went on to say she was a ‘big personality’ and was ‘no different when I’m three dress sizes smaller’.

Although Sara said she wasn’t bothered by how much she weighed, she was concerned about ‘the health side of it’.

After ‘cutting out sugar’ last year, which included not eating chocolate, cake and fruit, as well as stopping drinking alcohol, she dropped three dress sizes.

Explaining how people want a ‘magic bullet’ for weight loss, Sara said ‘lifestyle changes’ were the better alternative.

The TV star and entrepreneur shares sons Oliver and Charlie with her husband Simon, whom she married in 2007.

Speaking to Fabulous Magazine in 2021, Sara described her struggles to lose weight while competing on Strictly.  

‘I thought I would lose [weight] with Strictly. At first I was gutted, as I was getting on the scales every week and I wasn’t losing anything.

‘I’ve never worked so hard in my life, so it should have been dropping off. But, I have definitely toned up. I’ve even had to buy new leggings. I don’t know if my BMI has changed, but I feel great.

‘I hate going to the gym, but I’ve just been prancing around feeling a million dollars with my trousers falling down.’

The full interview with Davies is available in the December 2024 issue of Prima, which is now on sale.

Dragons’ Den is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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