‘I’ve gained muscles in new places!’
Lorraine’s Ria on her gruelling DOI training schedule
She brightens up our screens at breakfast as the entertainment presenter on Lorraine, but now Ria Hebden is pulling on her skates for Dancing On Ice.
Partnered with Lukasz Różycki, the mum of two, 39, chats to
Bella about how fit she’s got from training, and the support she’s had from her kids and showbiz pals.
How have you found learning to skate?
It’s very physically challenging. I have no professional dance training whatsoever, I couldn’t skate before this. What was really hard initially was bending and staying down low, because naturally you just want to stand up straight! So, having to learn to position myself in ways that I just have never done before felt really alien. I can’t even tell you the pain when I first started training with Lukasz, because I was literally twisting in the weirdest positions every day. But just through looking after myself, eating well, sleeping loads, drinking loads of water, and tonnes of baths with Epsom salts, I kind of got used to it. It’s a really great way to get fit.
Have you noticed an effect on your body?
Oh my goodness, I have muscles in places you cannot imagine! You know those muscles on the side of your tummy?
I’ve got them from all the twisting. Skating is a brilliant sport to get physically fit quickly because you’re using your whole body. You’re twisting and using your legs to push, so it tones your bum up really quickly. It was really funny when we were filming the adverts because the directors were like, “Come on, we want to see that fabulous body you’ve got Lukasz to thank for!” And I was like, “You’re right – I’ve got so toned through this whole experience”. So, if you want to get fit, skating is the answer!
Do your kids look forward to watching you skate on TV?
My son Noah’s 12 and gets so excited. I always say to him before he does any PE or athletics training, “Do your best, and the most important thing is to enjoy it.” So, now before I go to my training sessions, he always says to me, “Mummy, I hope you do well”, which is so sweet. My little girl Lula is four and she’s not really sure where I’m going. I say to her, “Mummy’s just going skating and you’ll see me on the TV, just like with Auntie Lorraine.”
How is it working with Lorraine Kelly?
My kids haven’t met Lorraine in person, but I refer to her as Auntie Lorraine so that the children know that it’s somebody close to Mummy, like how I talk to them about friends. But it’s brilliant working with Lorraine. She’s such a cheerleader and really supports what I’m doing and believes in me, as does everyone else on the Lorraine team. They’re really supportive and excited, which is so nice.
We get the impression that the ITV daytime team are quite close…
They just want you to do well. Andi Peters did Dancing On Ice, and said, “I’m not going to give you any tips because I was rubbish!” I was speaking to Alex Beresford, who I co-present All Around Britain with, and he did it in 2018. He said, “Look, immerse
yourself in it and really go for it. Don’t get overwhelmed, just enjoy it. And I’m not going to lie, you will absolutely poop your pants on the first show!” It was really nice to have a friend give me that kind of insider knowledge.
Will you keep skating after the show, so you can show off at the ice rink?
Oh no, I’m not going to be that one person whizzing around while everyone else is going around in circles! But I honestly think that I will continue skating because it’s such a beautiful skill. And what a privilege to have been taught by some of the best skaters in the world.
What’s been your highlight so far?
I mean, having Karen Barber as a coach has been a highlight for me. That’s something I’m going to tell my grandkids about, that an ex-olympic champion taught me. And I’d really like my daughter to have lessons professionally because, sadly, we’re not really given them here in the UK. We don’t learn to skate and just risk our lives every Christmas – normally drunk on mulled wine!
Ria stars in Dancing On Ice, Sunday nights on ITV. She also presents the Entertainment round-up on Lorraine every Friday on ITV