After his brother Adam Thomas wowed the Strictly judges last year, Ryan Thomas is hoping to impress on this year’s Dancing On Ice, taking part alongside the likes of Amber Davies and Miles Nazaire. Now, Ryan admits he’s turned to pal Chris Fountain, 36 – who competed in the third season of the show – for advice.
The actor, 39 – who has a three-year-old son, Roman, and a daughter Lilah, one, with TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh, 32 – laughs, “I’m his biggest fan, and now he’s going to be my biggest fan! He was at my house on Christmas Eve, and [my fiancée] Lucy walked in and saw us holding hands and doing footwork. She was like, ‘What is going on here? Have you got something to tell me?’”
The Corrie star also reveals it was his daughter Scarlett, 15 – from his six-year romance with former co-star, Tina O’Brien, 40 – who encouraged him to hit the ice.
He shares, “I got a phone call before they asked me to do the show from my eldest daughter – she’s 15, and you don’t get very much out of them at that age. She rang me up out of the blue and said, ‘Dad, would you please do Dancing On Ice? You’d be really good’. A week later, I got asked to do the show. It was an instant yes. I’m doing this for Scarlett.”
And Ryan – who is partnered with Amani Fancy, 26 – says he’s supporting his fellow contestants all the way.
He shares, “I don’t think I’m competitive, but other people say that I am. The competition element is difficult for me because I’m a big champion of the people. If anyone falls or doesn’t do well, that will affect me. I’m trying not to focus on that – but I do have that thought that I need to do well.”
