Strictly’s Saffron Barker shares update after being targeted by armed robbers in the US

Strictly Come Dancing star Saffron Barker has revealed she has made it back to the UK after a terrifying road trip in the United States.

The 24-year-old influencer – who has appeared on the likes of Strictly and Celebrity Hunted over the years – started her YouTube channel in 2015, where she continues to share content about lifestyle and beauty, fashion and fitness to her two million followers.

Just over a week ago, Saffron revealed she’d faced a series of setbacks having being hospitalised for emergency surgery, and then having ‘every single thing’ including her passport taking from her ‘smashed up’ rental car.

She was stuck in the US waiting to be allowed to travel home, but she’s now shared some wholesome posts from a family BBQ in the garden, confirming she’s back in the UK.

‘Home sweet home,’ she captioned a snap of herself snuggled up on the sofa.

It comes after she shared a video with her TikTok followers going into more detail about her horrific ordeal.

She and her model boyfriend Josh Miln were on a road trip, but after stopping off at a diner, they returned to find the car broken into.

‘Our parents keep saying ‘you should be grateful you guys are still alive,’” Josh added, while Saffron admitted they felt fortunate it wasn’t worse, given they’ve since found out the robbers were armed.

‘We’re currently waiting to get emergency passports, we have to drive back to LA, but then our flights are out of Vegas so we have to drive back again. But we absolutely won’t be stopping,’ Saffron continued, shortly before they returned home.

Posting a photo on Instagram of herself in hospital cuddling a teddy bear, she previously explained: ‘In the last week I’ve been in hospital, had emergency surgery, got my rental car completely smashed up and every single thing I own stolen including my passport so I can’t get home.’

Over the past week Saffron has been posting photos from California but hasn’t shared any further update on the issues she’s facing.

It’s the latest setback she’s faced recently, with the influencer being rushed to hospital with a suspected ‘tropical disease’ last year.

In October she posted a series of updates showing her skin covered in a red rash, an IV drip coming from her arm and bloody bruises where blood had been drawn by medics.

She said in a caption alongside an image of her lying in bed in pyjamas: ‘Thank you so much for all your well wishes, after a week I finally feel somewhat normal again.

‘The doctors thought I’d caught a tropical disease from a mosquito when I was away.

‘I had all the symptoms being, rashes all over my body, headache, body aches, shooting pains in my body, temperature, sore throat and ears etc.’

However, she went on to share she hadn’t contracted malaria but was still battling the rash.

Earlier in the year she also sought medical help during a skiing holiday following a painful fall.

In 2023 her brother Casey also suffered a ‘major heart attack’ aged 27 and was admitted to hospital.

She later detailed he made it to the hospital ‘just in time’ to save him and they were ‘lucky he [is] still here’.

A version of this story was first published on May 11, 2025.

Strictly Come Dancing is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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