Brave Stef faces
THE move’s name “headbanger” is enough to strike terror into any ice skater’s heart – but Stef Reid is not just any performer on the rink.
The Paralympian, who has an artificial leg, amazed Dancing On Ice judges and millions of viewers when she was spun round at high speed with her head just inches from the ice.
The manoeuvre with pro-skater Andy Buchanan was even more dangerous as he had to grab her left instead of her right ankle. Show bosses nearly refused the pair permission to try the perilous stunt.
Afterwards Stef said it had felt amazing and revealed how
Andy encouraged her to put her life in his hands.
She said: “He basically calls me a chicken! He said, ‘No, I’m sorry, commit to this’. I was like, ‘You kind of got under my skin.
Good for you. I like this’.
“He never holds back.
He pushes me, we just go for it.”
Judges awarded Stef
36 out of 40 for her deathdefying routine and she will be hoping for an equally positive reaction tonight.
She and Andy will try to emulate Torvill and
Dean’s 1982 world championship-winning Mack and Mabel routine. Stef, 37, said: “People think the headbanger is hard but this, for me, is much harder because we’re recreating an Olympic standard routine.”
Sexy
And she will also face fierce competition from rivals including ex-strictly dancer Brendan Cole, The Vamps’ Connor Ball, Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt, BMX racer Kye Whyte and dancer Regan Gascoigne. But neither Stef, long jump silver medallist in the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics, nor Canadian wheelchair racer husband Brent Lakatos are ready for her to go.
The ITV skating show has brought out her sexy side, and Brent is delighted. She said: “I’ve discovered so many different sides to myself. Last week, I got the chance to play a diva, with Material Girl as the song.
“My husband texted me immediately after my performance and said, ‘Stefanie, where did you learn to swivel your hips like that?’ He was impressed. “I’m having the best time. I get so much joy from it. Dancing On Ice is so glamorous, it’s so much fun.
“We have the best of the best doing our hair and make-up. It’s amazing how you change as a performer when the outside matches how you want the inside to feel.”
Stef, who grew up playing rugby, lost her right foot in a boating accident 22 years ago and said Brent has been her rock throughout the competition.
It’s something even more poignant as he was paralysed by a skating accident when he was just six.
Stef admitted the first eight weeks had been really tough as she was not very good and couldn’t skate backwards. She said: “I’d say, ‘How can you choreograph someone who can barely skate?’
“He just said, ‘Keep going. You’ve been in this place before, no matter what, you do your best every day.’ That support was the best. People don’t always see the work you’re putting in, but he’s seen the full story and I know he’s super proud.” Stef’s prowess on the ice has also inspired her fans.
She said: “I’ve had so many messages from a huge range of people. From parents of kids of amputees, to adults saying things like, ‘We have never seen this before. We never thought that somebody with an artificial leg would be able to do that’.
Stef is justifiably proud of her headbanger and said: “We did something never attempted on DOI before. Even Jayne Torvill and Chris Dean have never seen it done. Because of my artificial leg, Andy had to grab my left leg, it would usually be the right.
“I was in a different position to the one usually used, making it even more dangerous. There was a lot going against us.
“We had to fight much harder against the G forces. If I lost that fight, it would have been my face slamming into the ice.
“It was still touch and go as to whether or not we would get to do it.”
Stef said she would not have got so far without “incredible” Andy.
Despite her brave performance last week, Stef admitted she has struggled on the ice, with the cold and wear and tear.
Nightmare
She said: “I fall all the time. I’m an excellent faller, which has really worked in my favour. I think it’s years of launching myself full speed into a long jump pit and knowing how to land properly.
“Some of the feedback I’ve gotten is you make it look so easy. But it is hard.
“It can take me up to four hours longer to learn a move. I fall over while the others are getting the moves straight away.”
Behind the scenes, Stef said the competitors are enjoying themselves and she has grown particularly close to “super clever and sharp” Coronation Street star Sally Dynevor.
She said: “I’ve really enjoyed Bez a lot as well. We have great chats. I’ve spent quite a lot of time with Brendan. And Kimberly complimented me on my spiral the other day. She is so talented, it made my day.”
Stef will need all the confidence she can muster for tonight’s routine, which will be judged by Torvill and Dean.
She likened it to being asked to go out and sprint as fast as Usain Bolt, adding: “It’s my worst nightmare because I struggle with intricate, fast forward steps. I can only feel one foot and I’m constantly off balance.
“To do it in front of them, it’s truly terrifying. I don’t want to mess it up.”
You change when the outside matches how you
feel inside
In a woman’s world: Page 30 &31