A Scottish ice skater is hoping to make history by becoming the first British professional to win Dancing on Ice since the reboot of the show.
35-year-old Angela Egan has progressed to the final alongside her skating partner Sonny Jay in her first season on the show, making her the first British skater to feature in the final since ITV brought Dancing on Ice back in 2017.
On reaching the final, the Greenock-born skater thanked Scots for “getting behind their own” and admitted to being blown away by the reception she has had from fans and well-wishers.
She said: “It’s been crazy. My cousins are constantly bigging me up on Facebook, just rounding up the votes and it’s just such a nice feeling to see the support.
READ MORE: Dancing on Ice final: When is it? What time does it start
“I’ve got people coming out of the woodwork that I might not even know and they are writing to me from Inverclyde saying: ‘We see you skating and we’re voting for you every week’ I don’t even know these people and it’s just the nicest feeling.
“Scots always seem to get behind their own, which I think has always happened, but it has never really happened to me personally and it’s brilliant, I am absolutely loving it.
“The first couple of weeks my Instagram was blowing up with messages, and it took me a while but I am trying to get back to every single person.”
The professional skater, who moved to London in order to take part in the show admitted that she even has a bottle of Irn Bru stored away in her fridge to toast her first successful season on the show after the final.
When asked what she missed about Scotland following her move and when she was on tour with Disney on Ice she said: “Irn Bru. I’m not even joking, I didn’t know I loved Irn Bru so much until I went away on tour and I couldn’t get it. I have one bottle chilling in the fridge ready to go.”
Egan added that one of the biggest changes since doing the show was her radio listening habits stating that she now automatically tunes into Capital, a nod to her skating partner, Capital FM DJ Sonny Jay saying: “When I go into the car now I just tune into Capital automatically.
She added: I didn’t know who he was when I was partnered with him because I didn’t listen to Capital Radio, and not being from London.
“I think if you weren’t from London he was a bit of an unknown, but he is such a good guy. It’s weird hearing him on the radio now because I just knew him as Sonny Jay the person.”
“He’s the funniest person I’ve ever met, he’s constantly making me laugh, even though he’s been on the Breakfast Show doing how many hours in the morning, he comes into work every single day and he is just up for a laugh, wants to get things done but wants to keep things light-hearted.”
Egan, who first started skating at 8-years-old after being inspired by The Mighty Ducks, signed up for a summer course in Paisley and has been skating ever since. Taking to the ice has seen her travel the world as Cinderella in Disney on Ice before her debut on Dancing on Ice this year.
She admitted however that moving to London during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the precautions in place had made adjusting and taking part in the show a little trickier.
She said: “It is a little odd because this is the norm for me, this is what I know the show to be because it's my first year on the show, but I have obviously heard from all the other pros of the way it normally runs and this year it's not quite the same.”
A personal skate to be so proud of 💙 What a touching tribute from @SonnyJay and Angela #DancingOnIce pic.twitter.com/oY79RoP0dV
— Dancing on Ice (@dancingonice) March 7, 2021
“Because of Covid we don’t have the hands-on coaching, we don’t have spotters for lifts, we don’t have everyone congregating, sharing ideas and thoughts on certain things to make something better.
“I think that's jeopardised the progression of skating, which is why I think we have had a couple of injuries. But it is also a dangerous sport we are doing.”
She added that the strictest Covid guidelines were in place for the duration of the show, with 2 metre distancing, and that she was in a bubble alone with her partner, Sonny Jay.
She said: “It’s been a bit of a topsy turvy year, but it's been my first year so it’s what I believe to be the norm, so if I do come back next year it's going to feel so much better.
She added: “It’s very surreal, television is like nothing I have ever done before, I’ve always done a live show.
“But here, you have a super high on the night, and you’re all excited about the show and getting through to the next stage, and you go home and there is nobody there.
“You do the show, go home and that’s it, but there is so much going on behind the scenes here. It took a bit of getting used to it, but I’m enjoying it.”
On reaching the final, she said: “It is a little bit daunting, Every single week I just wanted to get through that week, get on to the next one. I didn't want to get too far ahead.
“As the final got closer and closer I felt myself getting a little bit excited - but honestly as long as we keep having a good time out there I am just happy we got through in one piece.”
And it appears that Angela will have plenty of supporters willing her on in the final with a spokesperson from Irn-Bru sending on their best wishes saying: "We've got our fingers crossed for Angela and Sonny skating their way to success. What better way to celebrate than chilling with an ice-cold Irn-Bru."
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