The ice is tough but bro is my skate mate
Battling Ryan has shoulder to lean on
ChiRpy Ryan Thomas has revealed he goes through an emotional rollercoaster on Dancing On ice, and says it has been harder to get to grips with the rink than he expected.
But help is at hand for Ryan, best known for playing Jason Grimshaw on Coronation Street. He can call on brother Adam, who took part in Strictly Come Dancing last year.
Ryan said he talks to fellow actor Adam, 35, most days, and takes a lot of comfort from their shared reality show experiences.
He added: “He was talking to me most of the time during his journey on Strictly.
“And I feel like we have a lot in common in that sense. We know the training.
“We know how it is to work with a partner day in, day out.
“We know the schedule is tough. It’s a very similar process. And I’m very lucky to have him in my corner.”
Ryan is skating with pro Amani Fancy, 26, on the ITV hit.
The pair top-scored with their opening routine to Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire but the 39-year-old soap star admits the schedule since then has taken its toll on his body and mind.
He has battled back and shoulder niggles, and the mental scars of dropping Amani in rehearsals. Ryan said: “My body is just fatigued. It’s hard sometimes to be up there constantly. “One minute you’re up, one minute down. I’m not down on myself, just fatigued – overthinking things, wanting things to be great. “It’s very hard to get it right all the time. And I hate watching videos back and seeing my feet and my hands and my positioning. Yeah, it annoys me when I watch things back. “It made me a little bit proud that I got through the first show with not much slip-ups. “I knew there was a lot more wrong with it than the public did. But I’m the hardest critic.” Ryan left Corrie after 16 years in 2016. Since then, he has become a family man, engaged to Towie’s Lucy Mecklenburgh, 32, and with two children. While he is considering acting again, he says he would view a return to the cobbles as a backward step. He said: “Corrie is the reason I’m here today. It’s an institution. “I’d feel like it’s going back in time, going back to Corrie. “I feel like I need a new kick, a new challenge.”
●Dancing On Ice is on ITV and ITVX tomorrow at 6.20pm.