I’was so worried I d have to pull out of the show ...I’d come off the ice and just cry
friendly, supportive and understanding.” Hannah, who has daughters Taya, five, and three-year-old Tora with her partner Adam Thomas, told how her auto-immune condition flared up last year and was practically bed-bound for six months.
But she later signed up for a 25th anniversary tour with her S Club 7 bandmates Rachel Stevens, Bradley Mcintosh, Jo O’meara, Tina Barrett, Jon Lee and Paul.
Months after news of their reunion was announced, however, the group were rocked by the devastating news that Paul had died, aged 46.
It later emerged he had suffered heart failure.
While the remainder of the band agreed to go ahead with the tour in his honour, Hannah could not – for reasons she says are still too emotionally charged for her to talk about.
Hannah said: “When
I signed up for Dancing
On Ice, I felt out of control and lacking in confidence.
“It had been an emotional year… there’s been a few things that have happened and the combination of everything really got on top of me.
“But I’m much more confident now. I feel like I can rely on myself a lot more and I’m in a stronger place, instead of feeling out of control.
“I’ve had some really positive feedback too – people have been so supportive. I’ve had a few messages from fans who are happy to see me on the show, even if they couldn’t see me on the tour.” In Hannah’s Dancing On Ice debut, she skated to Ariana Grande’s Break Free in a performance with some impressive lifts.
And tonight she will take to the rink as Frozen princess Elsa, as she dances to the iconic Disney hit, Let It Go. Hannah said the moment will be extra special as her daughter Tora loves the film.
“Tora is addicted to Frozen,” she smiled. “Taya also likes it but Tora is the more hardcore fan so they are both coming along.
“They have never seen me perform before Dancing On Ice and apparently, they were mesmerised by my first routine. Adam spent four-and-a-half hours in the studio trying to encourage them to behave, and had two minutes of perfect behaviour while I was on the ice!
“I really hope everyone enjoys it… I have a terrible tendency to be a perfectionist and it doesn’t always serve me well, but Dancing On Ice is teaching me to accept where I am and be OK with it.
“And that’s really helping me to relax and enjoy the process.
“Watching everyone else in the studio on Sunday night actually makes me quite emotional because I’m so proud of how far we’ve all come since we started.
“It’s incredible and I wish everyone could make it to the end.”