TV host Ria Hebden can’t wait to be Dancing on Ice as Princess Elsa in tonight’s movie week on the hit show.
She’s really ready to Let It Go for all adoring young Frozen fans who’ll be watching her as the only woman of colour in the celebrity line-up.
Ria, 38, is on a mission to inspire black girls around the country they can be anyone they want to be.
“I understand how powerful it is actually for them to see me dressed as Elsa, because it shows that anyone can be a Disney princess. They can achieve their dream,” says the star who is paired with Polish pro Lukasz Rozycki.
“I’m really proud to be the only woman of colour invited to compete on such a big, primetime ITV show.
“Visibility is really important and me being part of the show will inspire little mixed race and black girls all around the country that it’s possible for them too.”
And it seems that she’s already having a big impact off the ice – she says she’s constantly being approached by kids keen to show their support.
Mum-of-two Ria adds: “So many come up to me and are like, ‘You are amazing. I’m watching you, and because of you, I’m going to keep going’. I think, ‘Oh my God, but I’m not even good’. But then I understand what they’re saying is, ‘You look like me and you make me feel like I can do it’. That’s why it’s really important to have skaters and judges that reflect the diversity of the UK.”
After finding herself in the first skate-off last weekend, Ria, who is the showbiz presenter on ITV’s morning show, Lorraine, will need some inspiration of her own.
Despite scoring 24.5 points, she failed to pick up enough votes from the public to avoid having to compete against former rugby ace Ben Foden, 36.
She was saved by the judges, but Ria admits not being picked came as a blow.
“I was in extreme shock when it happened,” she explains.
“You’re thinking, ‘How did that happen when you put so much of yourself into that routine and it turned out OK?’.
“It was awful. As a child I was always really athletic, always picked first for sports teams. So when I stood there waiting to hear our names and it wasn’t coming, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is how it feels when you’re not picked’.
“To find ourselves getting really great marks from the judges to then being in the skate-off was the biggest fall from grace.”
She admits next day she felt “a little bit broken. All I wanted to do was sit on the sofa and watch TV.
“But no, we were straight back at it, Lukasz cracking the whip again, no rest for the wicked.”
And the pair are coming back with a bang – because Ria’s hoping to display some magic on the rink with a show-stopping, if somewhat eye-watering stunt.
She says one false move during it could put her 42-year-old partner in hospital. “I’m doing a lift this week when I have to stand on Lukasz’s man bits with my blades,” says Ria.
“I just want to make sure he’s OK at the end of this. You know, he might want children one day.
“I asked him, ‘Shouldn’t you put padding on or have some sort of protection for your bits?” and he was like, “It’s OK, just have your blades like this… So the whole time in practice I’m thinking, ‘Hopefully I won’t give him a vasectomy’.”
After months of gruelling training, Ria – who married TV presenter husband Mark in 2012 and has children Noah and Luna – says she’s in the best shape of her life and can’t wait to hit the beach to show it off.
“I dropped half a stone in the first six weeks,” she reveals. “Not intentionally, but I think it’s just because of the constant twisting during hours and hours of skating every day.
“Kimberly Wyatt said to me the other day, ‘Girl, your booty’s looking great’. And I’ve noticed that my tummy has changed. I’ve had two children, so I have that mummy pouch that we all have, but that’s totally going. If you want to get super fit, ice skating is a brilliant way to do it. We’ve booked a holiday for after the show and I’m definitely bikini ready.”
