Chemmy Alcott, Britain’s top skier for a record seven years, is to appear in the new series of Dancing on Ice, the ITV ice skating competition. In a new challenge for the racer, she’ll be taking on other celebrities, including Chesney Hawkes, Rosemary Conley and Corey Feldman, and performing specially choreographed skating routines in the studio each week.After a career-threatening skiing accident last season in Lake Louise in which she broke her leg, Alcott has taken to ice skating to help her rehabilitation.
“I have this massive opportunity with Dancing on Ice to do something that is going to help me get into the right state with my leg, with my sport and with my head,” said Alcott. “The first few skating sessions that I did, the coach would say ‘on your right leg’, which is the one I broke, ‘go on your outside edge’. It would take me ten metres to make that connection from my head to my leg. If I was doing that in a skiing situation, downhill, that would have been disastrous. That’s why I can’t just bounce back and race straight away; I don't have that body control at the moment. This is teaching me to do it in a safe environment.”
Alcott is hopeful she will be able to make the transition from the slopes to performing a choreographed routine. She said, “I love to dance, I'm very uninhibited. I’m one of these people who hit the clubs, dancing wildly, and you’re like ‘Good on her, let’s not copy it though!’”
The series begins on Sunday 8th January on ITV1.
