Jimmy Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley on Strictly

Strictly star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has opened up about one mistake he makes “every week” (Image: PA)

Strictly Come Dancing star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has exposed one of his “biggest mistakes” he makes on the show every week. The football ace has dazzled viewers every week on the show with his impressive dance moves alongside Lauren Oakley. Last week, the pair found themselves in the middle of the leaderboard with an impressive score of 29 points out of 30 with their Couples Choice routine.

This week, the dynamic duo is limbering up for Icons week on the BBC show, during which they will dance to Purple Rain by Prince. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the sportsman, 53, revealed one of his biggest struggles in rehearsals.

He told us: “So, the majority of the steps I think I can do, and I do them the majority of them the time straight away when Lauren does them in front of me and says these are your steps.

“The first hit, I do them, and then after the third time trying, I complicate things, and I end up thinking too much about it and overcomplicating it, and then getting frustrated with myself and getting angry.

“So, it’s a process that I just need to get out of. I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t cracked it yet in my head.” The pundit explained that being a perfectionist makes it harder to get his head around, especially while learning a new skill.

Jimmy added: “I think it’s just because it’s not natural, it’s not a day-to-day thing, it’s a new discipline. And you can just see my face changing and my demeanour shifting. I just get really upset with myself.”

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink training for Strictly

The sportsman admitted he is a perfectionist and struggles not to overthink things in rehearsals (Image: BBC)

His dance partner, Lauren, reassured the star that he is going from strength to strength on the show, but his self-confidence is holding him back from reaching his potential.

She explained: “He goes really internal, so he’s pretty spot on there. He’s so able, I just think it’s the self-belief and the self-confidence that we need to crack because it will go wrong maybe once, and then he gets it into his head, and he goes wrong another three times.

“So, we’re working on getting out of that funk quicker, then we can just get over it and do it right again the next time. So, it’s just about having self-belief and not letting the little mistakes take over the next 20 minutes of training.”