The Real Full Monty On Ice

Press Pack

All contents strictly embargoed for publication until Thursday 3rd December 2020

The Real Full Monty On Ice

TX Monday 14th Dec and Tuesday 15th December at 9pm Embargoed until 00.01am on Thursday 3 December 2020

It’s back! The shows with the most front on British television are returning this festive season and promise to be bolder and ballsier than ever before. For the very first time, the new line-up of brave celebrities will perform their routines by doing the full monty on ICE, in a winter wonderland spectacular - without a thermal in sight.

The petrified class of 2020 will be led by Ashley Banjo and Coleen Nolan, joining forces once again to put them through their paces for the biggest and most daring show yet, all to raise awareness of cancers in intimate areas of the body and the crucial importance of early self-checks to help save lives.

The Emmy award-winning and BAFTA-nominated programme is now in its fourth year and the celebrities have tough acts to follow. But with less health checks taking place during lockdown for crucial early diagnosis, the message has never been more important.

Stepping up to reveal all on ice this year are Radio 4 Woman’s Hour legend Dame Jenni Murray, actress Linda Lusardi, Love Island’s Shaunghna Phillips, actress Hayley Tamaddon and This Morning’s Dr Zoe. While baring all for the boys will be rugby star Gareth Thomas, actor Jamie Lomas, singer Jake Quickenden, jockey Bob Champion, Diversity’s Perri Kiely and Love Island’s Chris Hughes. All have stories to tell about how cancer has touched their lives or those closest to them.

To push them even harder, Ashley has asked some of the former Dancing on Ice professional skaters to perform with the celebrities and DOI’s Dan Whiston will be creating some amazing ice dance routines to get everyone into the Christmas spirit.

The fresh set of male and female stars will learn their whole super-sized routine from scratch, before revealing all to the nation in two 90-minute specials to demonstrate the importance of shedding body inhibitions and making checks in intimate areas to prevent cancer.

A Spun Gold production

Press pack interview with Ashley Banjo

Why was it important to be involved in the series again this year? At the start I was thinking to myself, should we do it this year? There is so much going on, should we be talking about this? But I quickly realised, yes - more so than ever. More people are missing health appointments, more lives could be lost. I’ve read articles that a million people have missed mammograms and the projected figures for how many lives could be unnecessarily lost as a result of that. We are all focused on the lives that are being lost from Covid, which is awful, but cancer has not gone anywhere. We need to keep up the checks and the screenings. Otherwise we are going to lose a lot more lives. I want to play my part and really bring that awareness home.

Why did you decide to bring the show to the ice for the first time?? Well, on top of that, it’s a case of - how do we make a noise? How do we break through and push this message? With the series being at Christmas this year, we knew we wanted it to be a big winter wonderland extravaganza, so it kind of fell into place to use the ice. Before we knew it, we were doing the Full Monty, on ice, at Christmas, in the middle of a global pandemic. We don’t make it easy for ourselves!

What has been the biggest challenge so far? Getting everyone together safely at the moment is a challenge. We’re all being continuously tested and following the guidelines to be safe and responsible. But trying to get everyone together and create this show on ice, I mean - it’s a big group of people, getting everyone up to scratch and being able to pull off this scale of project in this current situation has been really difficult. As a result, this is by far the shortest amount of time we’ve had. We’re just over a week out from the final show and we’ve probably got about 20% of the routine now! We’re closer to the wire than ever. I’m just hoping we can pull it off!

How is everyone getting on? Brilliantly. The guys are all hilarious, Bob is such a legend. He can’t skate at the moment but he is so determined to skate in this performance, so I’ve given him a challenge. I can’t take it away from him. They are all great. Gareth is such good fun, obviously he’s a big rugby guy but for filming he had to strut down a catwalk, with the sassiest walk I’ve ever seen, wearing a puffa jacket and a huge pair of fake balls tied to him - to raise awareness. Honestly, the things that happen on this show you’ll never see on anything else!

What has it been like learning to skate for this series? I’ve been learning. I’m definitely going to get on the ice. I’m not a great skater so that’s another pressure but I’m getting better! If you’re going to perform on ice, it’s got to be on point.

What can viewers expect from the final show? We wanted to up the ante and make it more of a challenge. As well as being fun and festive, the ice will be magical and hopefully it will be a real treat but with a very important message behind it. I think we all need some fun and hopefulness and feelgood at the moment, so we’ll be bringing that. But I would say that at the time of doing this interview, I don’t know what to expect either yet!

Press pack interview with Coleen Nolan

Why was it important to you to be involved in the series again? The easiest thing in the world to do would have been to say, we’ll leave it to next year. The challenge of making a programme like this during a pandemic and keeping everyone safe is huge. But actually I think this year is more important than any year. Because everyone is so obsessed with Covid that we have forgotten everything else and we have forgotten to check ourselves or go to the doctor. So this message has never been more important.

This is my favourite show to do, because cancer has affected my family so devastatingly. To be honest, having spoken about Bernie’s story before - after she sadly passed away, I thought, this series I will just let everyone do their stories and I can be here for moral support. But then of course cancer came and hit my other two sisters this year, so again - it brought it home to me. I want to put that message out there, of being aware and checking yourself.

What has it been like putting your skates on for this series? I’m always nervous doing this show because we’re learning an Ashley Banjo routine, which is never going to be easy, plus the whole thing of having to strip off and get our boobs out. But then Ashley thought he’d throw another element at it this year and put the whole thing on ice! I thought, he's got to be joking. But here we are. We were rehearsing yesterday and I stopped and said, this is horrendous! I did Dancing on Ice in 2009 and I swore I would never get on another ice rink again and somehow here I am about to do it AND get my kit off. I just can’t say no to that face (Ashley’s). It’s very difficult. If we can pull it off it will be spectacular and of course it’s all Christmassy – which I think is what people need at the moment. But hopefully we can still get the message across within that, because that’s why we’re here.

What else can viewers expect this year? There are a few surprises along the way, it will be very different to previous years. I hope it will take them through every emotion possible. Laughing one minute, crying the next. Checking yourself, even while you’re watching it – I know that happened a lot last year – I got messaged from people who did find a lump while they were watching it and they’d never even thought about checking before. Luckily, they were fine because they’d caught it early. So even if it only helps one or two people again, then it’s worth doing. But after the year everyone has had, I think it will feel very uplifting actually too.

What is the dynamic like between all the cast this year? As always, there is such a great dynamic this year. There always seems to be and I think it’s just because it’s a really nice show to be involved in and everyone’s so passionate about it. Everyone has experienced someone close to them having cancer, or their own battle with cancer. There’s a vulnerability about it and we are all nervous, which is a bonding experience. Some days you think, I don’t know if I can do this today, but you think of why you are doing it and the people you are doing it for, and it gives us all a boost to carry on.

What has your favourite moment been from filming so far? Jake and Chris are like little Labrador puppies, they are really naughty and very untrained! They’ve been so much fun. We’re always laughing. Especially on ice. We’ve had some really lovely moments, we all went away for a bonding session and it worked. We laughed and cried. I think we laugh every day to be honest.

How are you feeling about the final performance? Have your nerves improved since the first year?! I will never feel comfortable about the end of the routine, ever. I’m just not that person that gets them out on a daily basis! I don’t even sunbathe topless. And I don’t ever do it in rehearsals, ever. I’m only doing it for the show. I did think this year, ‘Oh I won’t be nervous any more about learning a routine’ but then Ashley puts it on ice! So now it’s horrendous. I’ve got to learn the routine, take my kit off at the end, and do it all on ice. What the hell. So this year is much, much, much more nerve-wracking than ever!

Press pack interview with Dame Jenni Murray

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? Well, I was absolutely flabbergasted when my agent asked me about it. I said, ‘Absolutely not. Good lord, what on earth would make you think I would do something like that? I’m not baring my breasts in public!’ But then I have to say, I thought really seriously about it after that conversation. Because I’ve always said - we need to keep women informed about this. It was a really important part of Woman’s Hour, we talked about breast cancer a lot. And I’m old enough to remember when women didn’t talk about breast cancer, because they were so afraid of it. It was my generation that really started to open up about it and say - it’s important we understand it and we know what to look for when people say, ‘Check your breasts, check your armpits and if there’s anything that worries you go and sort it out’. And so I thought, ‘Go on Murray, put your money where your mouth is, you can’t have gone on like this for years and years and then say no’. So I agreed to do it. Because it’s a really, really important message that we continue to get out. To every age group.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? Well, I managed to lay down certain restrictions like, I don’t ice-skate. Far too dangerous for a woman with two replaced hips and a spot of sciatica. I haven’t ice-skated since my kids were small and even then I wasn’t very good at it. Too dangerous for someone in my position. So Ashley had an idea for how I would arrive onto the ice instead, which all sounded great, until he said, ‘And then you will dance with Diversity’. I mean, I love Diversity, but I love to watch Diversity, the thought of dancing with Diversity fills me with absolute terror. Listen, I used to be a really good dancer, never professionally trained just great sense of rhythm, loved dancing. And now, I still love the music and love the idea of moving to it but now I think my dancing days are over. So, oh, it’s been scary. Really, really scary. But you know, you do your best. What more can you do?!

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? There is one piece of film where we went to a burlesque cabaret, which was all a bit flash for my liking but there were these really amazing women, a woman who was a dance teacher with her pupils – all of whom were doing burlesque really to give themselves more body confidence, which is something that these days, I lack. I joined in and really tried to do my best and there is film of me teetering down some stairs in this club with a huge feather fan in front of me, trying to look flirtatious. So that was the most dramatic thing I’ve had to do, so far!

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? My husband thinks I’m a nutcase but then, I suppose he’s always known that a bit. He says, ‘Are you sure? What are they going to do with you? Are they going to lift you?’ Really supportive husbands - they are good aren’t they?! But actually, my family are so cool about everything. I think they just think, ‘Oh it’s mum, whatever she wants to do, she’ll do’. And of course, they all lived through - 14 years ago, in 2006 - when I was diagnosed, they lived through the worst of all possible times with me. And I think are probably just still grateful that I’m still here. So all of them would absolutely agree with the fact that it needs to be promoted. Because getting it treated, saved my life.

Press pack interview with Linda Lusardi

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? I’ve watched the programme in the past and I have always been very moved by it and it has made me want to check myself for lumps and bumps. I just think it’s so important and having lost my best friend, Angie, to breast cancer, it was a no-brainer. Obviously it was a concern having to expose myself, but, I put that aside and said yes. Then I found out it was on ice, so that was a bit of a shock, as I’ve always feared getting back on the ice. I broke a bone in my foot during training for Dancing on Ice, before I even got to the live shows. So I do have a fear of hurting myself on the ice. I’m a lot older now and will take longer for me to mend, but the cause is far greater than my concerns and there was no way I was going to say no.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? I don’t think we have faced the biggest challenge yet! We have a lot of skating left to learn. We’ve only practised about 30 seconds of the routine so far and it’s eight minutes long so, it is going to be the skating which is the biggest challenge. I’ll worry about the finale, the reveal, when I get to it. It probably won’t dawn on me until we’re about to do it.

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? I think the skating is more worrying than the reveal at the moment, I just hope I remember the routine properly and don’t mess up. I don’t want to fall on the ice or expose myself at the wrong point during the dance.

How have you got on with your fellow performers? I adore them all in different ways. They’re all so diverse. I’ve known Hayley about 15 years, through doing shows and Emmerdale. Dr Zoe is just fantastic, she is so full of information and so much fun. She’s very competitive, and she has bought out my competitive streak during some of the tasks we’ve had along the way. Coleen, I’ve known for years as well, dating back maybe 30 years, Blackpool days in shows, our paths have crossed a lot during the years. I knew Bernie, she did many stages shows with my husband. We were friends with Bernie. I know Linda as well. So I feel connected in that way with Coleen.

Shaughna, I watched in Love Island and I was a supporter of hers, we bonded and got quite close. We’ve had dinners when we’ve been filming away from home and she’s opened up about her dad and we’ve shed a few tears together. She’s a lovely girl. A lot of people underestimate Shaughna but she’s a very clever girl. She doesn’t mind being open about having lip-fillers and stuff so people imagine that you must be brainless, but that she certainly isn’t. She’s just in control of what she wants and what she wants to do to her body. Dame Jenni and I get on. We have a lovely group of ladies and I couldn’t wish for a better bunch to be doing this with. We all look out for each other. There have been moments in filming where some of us have felt more comfortable than others and we have really supported each other.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? The most memorable moment and most moving moment was around the campfire when Jake told us his story and what he’s been through. I didn’t know much about him before and I didn’t know his story. And it just cut me to the core. I had to go off into the woods and have a good old cry. I couldn’t believe what he’s been through with his brother and his dad. It was heart-wrenching.

The funniest moment was on an open top bus with a big fake boob strapped to us. We just laughed all day. Everything we did looked so funny and comical wearing them. We were on exercise machines and then running along like we were in Baywatch, it was very funny. We were using the megaphone to call down from the bus to people to ask them to check themselves. It was during lockdown so we were mostly calling to empty streets or to police! But they need to get checked too! We did eventually see some women along the way though. Shaughna was fantastic at coming out with slogans like: “The world might have slowed down but cancer hasn’t.” it was great. It was a really funny day.

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? Hopefully Sam and our children can come along on the night. They’ve been helping me practise the bits of routine we’ve had from Ashley. They are very proud and excited for me as it’s a wonderful cause and a really important message to get out there. If just one person checks themselves because of this programme, then it’s all been worth it. Early detection is the key in fighting breast cancer. At the moment people aren’t going to the doctors with their worries, and they really should. Dr Zoe says the sooner you detect breast cancer, the easier it is for them to treat it. She says don’t ever feel as though you are wasting the doctor’s time, they’re never happier than to tell you there’s nothing wrong.

Press pack interview with Dr Zoe Williams

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? Well, as a doctor, a big part of our jobs is around health promotion and health education. I talk to patients all the time about checking themselves and about being able to detect signs of cancer at an early stage and why that’s so important. Not only because it saves lives but also it means the earlier the cancer can be detected, the easier it is to treat. And therefore the less invasive procedures a patient will need. So detecting cancers like breast cancer early, is everything. So when I was asked to do the show and having been aware of it from previous years and how big it is and how it gets people talking – what better way is there for me to do my job as a doctor than to put out this message about cancer awareness on a massive stage?

What has been the biggest challenge so far? Without a question of a doubt the biggest challenge is the skating, for those of us who are completely new to skating and are trying to learn to skate in the middle of a pandemic, when most of the ice- skating rinks are closed and we haven’t had much opportunity to get onto the ice. I still feel very concerned about how between now and the show, we’re going to be able to skate!

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? For most people I think the biggest fear is the bit at the end, when we do the big reveal, and although that is scary, for me I think actually the whole performance is scary. I’m less nervous and anxious about that bit of the show but terrified about the fact that people are just going to be looking at me when I’m in a pretty vulnerable position. I know I’m going to be really nervous. And I’m skating - doing something I’m not confident at. And I’m not confident at the dancing. So, I think the self-consciousness of being watched and being judged is my biggest fear.

How have you got on with your fellow performers? We all get on like an absolute house on fire and that is the one thing that calms our nerves - we know we are all in this together. We always look out for each other and support each other. We’ve actually become a really close group. I’m sure we will stay friends forever.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? Some of the boys are hilarious. Chris is usually late and we had our first day of learning choreography on the ice and he arrived two hours late, and actually he hadn’t missed that much but we told him that we’d already learnt the routine and offered to show him it. So Hayley started showing him this really complex routine and explained he’d be lifting his skate partner and spinning her round and he totally freaked out that he couldn’t do it. So that was quite funny.

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? I tend to get the same response from most people. First of all, it’s, ‘You’re doing what?!’ Because everyone focuses on the Full Monty - showing the boobs bit. So they are a bit shocked. But as soon as I explain about the reasons why I’m doing it and the impact that the show can have, then everybody gets it and is very supportive. Although a lot of them are saying – ‘Rather you than me!’

Press pack interview with Hayley Tamaddon

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? I’m doing this for one of my best friends, called Rebecca Gibbs, who died six years ago of cancer. Before she died she said to me, whatever comes up for telly, if they ask you to do it, for cancer, you say yes, and you do it. So I said, okay, I’ll do whatever you want! Whatever it takes. And I was always have. So that’s the reason I’m doing this. And the fact it’s on ice as well, is just amazing for me because I love skating! It means I can get my ice skates back on so that’s great.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? I think the biggest challenge so far, is the routine is huge! It’s not what’s happened before, it’s an eight minute routine that Ashley Banjo is putting together with Dan Whiston who was my skating partner on Dancing On Ice. Ashley is just a genius with choreography and coming up with these ideas and honestly, I can’t wait for people to see it. It’s such a huge spectacle. And that is the challenge for us, there is a lot of choreography and a lot of skating but it’s exciting as well. I can’t wait for people to watch!

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? Well, apart from having to get my baps out while I’m skating! I think the biggest fear is to remember it all, and to not cry as I’m doing it because it’s a really emotional piece and every time he puts the music on we all cry because honestly, it’s just so emotional.

How have you got on with your fellow performers? Like a house on fire! It’s ridiculous. It’s nice that I think a few of us knew each other. I knew Coleen I love and get on with really well. Linda Lusardi I’ve known for so many years, over 20 years. Yeah it’s just lovely to not just work with friends but the people who I didn’t know, we are now all really good mates. We have a little Whatsapp group and we keep in touch with each other every day and it’s wonderful. We’ve all come together under sad circumstances but what we’re doing is for such a brilliant cause. They are all such great people.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? So many! Where do I begin? For starters, you can’t stand me and Ashley Banjo next to each other for laughing! Because I’m 5’ and a fart and he’s 6’5”. And when he puts his skates on, it’s ridiculous - I look like a Borrower! So everyone just keeps laughing at that when that happens. Jake and Chris are like double trouble and they keep videoing me saying ridiculous things and then putting it on Instagram! I’m so gullible as well, I just believe everything they say and they keep getting me. Everyone finds that funny as well. Oh gosh I mean, every time we film is memorable because we’re doing the craziest things and I can’t tell you what they are yet but they’re just bonkers!

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? They are so, so up for it and supportive and standing by my side. My fiancé Adrian has just been amazing and also him and the Nanas – my mum and his mum – have been looking after Jasper, my little one year old, so I can do this. Because otherwise, especially during Covid, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it so I’m very grateful to them as well. But they are all really chuffed to bits that I’m doing it and Becky’s friends and family, her daughter Gigi as well, she knows that I’m doing it and they are so excited. I’m really that I can get some of them to watch the live performance, if we are able to do that. They are so on board and so on side and it’s just going to be wonderful, I’m so excited!

Press pack interview with Shaughna Phillips

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? I’ve been watching the series since it’s been on telly and it’s one of those programmes that you know is going to get you, but you can’t not watch it. It’s got everything - it’s funny but also terribly important. Now more so than ever. What I wanted to do when I came out of Love Island, was to use that platform and that opportunity to try and make a difference. Cancer has affected me personally, so this was the perfect show for me, to raise awareness. All we speak about at the moment is Corona but cancer hasn’t stopped. Even though lots of screenings have, which is so sad. The amount of people that could lose their lives now because Corona has stopped them going to the doctor or getting an early cancer diagnosis, is horrendous. Anything that I can do to try and change that, I would do every single day if I could.

How has it affected you personally? I lost my Dad in December 2016. He had cancer for 18 months and it completely changed my life and my perspective of what I thought was important. When my dad was ill, I felt like no-one had any idea what I was going through, even my close friends. So, if anyone watching this is going through what I’ve been through losing him and can then feel like they’re not alone, I’d be so happy to be able to do that.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? Skating is definitely the biggest challenge! To be honest, we’ve not actually done too much around the skating yet, so it worries me a little bit that they have this much faith in us! I suppose there is this little bit of competitiveness in me, that when I do something I want to do it really well. So when I’m struggling with it, I get the hump with myself! I’m taking as many ice skating lessons as I can! Ashley is such a good teacher and he has a way of making everything sound easy. The other day he talked us through the routine and what is going to happen on the night, and there was about five or six of us all in tears! He is amazing.

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? Falling over, definitely. Other than that, I have none. The ice skating definitely helps take your mind off of stripping on national television!

How have you got on with your fellow performers? I’m actually dreading the day that we finish filming because I just love it. This is my first taste of working with people that I’ve watched on TV for years – I’ve been fan-girling so hard over Coleen. I mean trying to keep my cool around her is what I’m trying to do every day but I struggle! We’re all very tight knit. We’re like a little family.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? Watching Chris Hughes trying to take instruction is probably the highlight of every single filming day that I have. He just really struggles with any instruction, ever! The other day we were skating and all had to look up – we must have done it seven times because Chris kept forgetting to look up!

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? They are all really excited about it. It feels a bit like no one has had anything to look forward to this year, so it’s a massive thing for us all. I think it’s actually going to air on TV on the anniversary of losing my Dad and I feel like that is going to feel really special – like a nod to him on that day.

Press pack interview with Bob Champion

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? The main reason is, the programme is such a good idea to make people realise that if there is something wrong, go and get your body checked. Having had cancer myself, I know how important it is. I was one of the lucky ones because if I’d left it another two or three weeks, I wouldn’t have been here. So I appreciate what the programme’s doing actually and I’m all for it. Hopefully people having watched it will go and get their bodies checked if they need to. Especially at the moment, when we know less people are doing that due to lockdown. It is worrying, because when you miss those early stages, especially the treatment, your chances of living are so much less than if they detect it very early.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? I can’t ice skate so the skating is definitely the most challenging. I’m improving a little bit but by god I’ve got a long way to go! Obviously, we have to take our clothes off, but it’s not going to be sordid! Everything is very tasteful. Of course that still worries me but the ice skating worries me a lot more!

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? I’m just doing my best but I don’t want to let the others down, that’s the most important thing to me. They’re a lot younger than me! Apparently, I’m the oldest person to have ever taken part in the show! I just don’t want to let them down, but I’m trying my hardest.

How have you got on with your fellow performers? We all great on really well and those Diversity boys, Ashley and Perri, my god they are talented. They are putting everything together, which if we can pull it off, will be absolutely amazing. We are very lucky that a lot of the others can skate and are very good – thank goodness it’s not a knockout show or I’d have been out in the first week! Hopefully they will carry me through it.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming? There’s been so many but I think jumping in to a lake on a freezing cold day was the funniest. They never tell us where we are going to film and we ended up at this lake. I was thinking, ‘What are we going to do here – the scene from Dirty Dancing?’ There were a few swans and that, the water was a bit dirty and oh so cold. I don’t want to give too much away but we ended up in the lake and it was very funny.

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? I think they are all for it because they realise why I’m doing it and to me it’s very important. All of us on the show, they have all been connected with cancers in their lives and families and we’re trying to get the message out there – that’s the whole reason we’re here. The others all feel exactly the same way. If we can help one or two people then the show’s really worth it. If we can save a few lives, god I’ll be chuffed.

Press pack interview with Jamie Lomas

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? My brother-in-law has done the show before, Matthew Wolfenden, and when I watched it I thought it seemed like a great way to give something back. I’m in a position to help and to be asked and it is a great way to do some good. Also, my dad has got prostate cancer, so it’s my gift to him, me making a fool of myself for a good cause!

What has been the biggest challenge so far? All of it. Learning to skate so far. We haven’t even really started the dancing yet, we’ve got a couple of weeks to nail that. It’s been extremely challenging. I’ve probably had 15 hours on the ice having never skated before. To go from nothing to be able to skate around feels like a huge achievement to me already. When you see me when I was first on the ice, I just find it so difficult. I’ve had some bad falls as well. The only way I can describe it is, when you’re a kid and you’re riding your bike, well, when the toe pick sticks in the ice, it’s like going over the handle bars of your bike. There’s nothing stopping you going over, and hitting the ice is like hitting concrete. It really hurts.

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? At the moment I feel like I’m just waiting to see. I’m sure once the show is all over and everyone’s in the dressing room, or, hopefully, in the bar, we’ll look back on the experience and be proud of it. The fact that we’re able to raise awareness and get an important message out to people, that’s the top and bottom of it. Regardless of whatever happens on the night, if we make a fool of ourselves or whatever, the most important thing is getting the message out to people. Anything I might get worried about pales into insignificance as the message is more important than what happens on the night.

How have you got on with your fellow performers? We’ve had a real laugh at filming so far. It’s a really nice group and we’ve had a lot of fun. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it? If you can have fun doing what you’re doing and try to enjoy everything, then you’re very lucky. Some of the funny sequences we have filmed, you think, ‘What am I doing?!’ but you have to think about the message and the cause and the reason why you’re doing it. I’m sure anyone who has been through these cancers themselves will be extremely grateful for what we’re doing. Anyone that catches something early or goes to the hospital because they saw the show, that will be amazing. It makes it all worthwhile.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? There have been a few. We did some Dirty Dancing moves with the girls and that was very funny. We’ve had a good time telling stories and all the lads are funny. We’ve all been being tested for COVID and it’s so nice to be able to give people a hug when you say hello!

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? I think my daughter is a bit embarrassed, she’s like, ‘Er, dad, what are you doing?!’. My dad is made up that I’m doing it and my friends have been taking the mickey out of me, but that’s to be expected.

Press pack interview with Chris Hughes

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? The main thing was seeing everything that my brother has gone through over the last year and a half since he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Obviously it is so important to continue to raise awareness about testicular cancer and prostate cancer as well. To be able to do it in such a positive manner and to be able to reflect what my brother has been through to an audience again, to help raise awareness, it just seemed like definitely the right thing to do. It’s a great show. I’ve watched before and know what it’s all about, although it’s a bit different this year with the ice!

What has been the biggest challenge so far? The biggest challenge is the ice-skating. I’m being chucked in at the deep end because it is something I just can’t do. But I am having to do that to coincide with the fun performance that results in the Full Monty. That’s the hardest thing. I’ve found everything else, like talking about what I’ve been through, and everything my brother’s been through, all that kind of thing has been ok, but the ice-skating is like another world. I’m trying my best to get to grips with the ice but I just can’t gauge it. I’m just not good. It’s the one thing that’s conquered me. I’m trying, but it’s not getting any easier.

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? I don’t fear anything just yet. It’s just remembering the whole routine. It’s quite special this year, it’s not just a dance, it’s more of a show, so the hardest thing is making sure you remember everything on the night. If I’m thinking, ‘Don’t forget it, don’t forget it,’ then it makes it harder to remember. So that’s the hardest part, the actual stripping bit doesn’t faze me as much as everything else.

How have you got on with your fellow performers? We’ve got on so well. We’ve got such a bond, all of us. It’s nice meeting the women as well. We’ve all come together, we’ve all made friends and we all understand each other’s personal journeys. It’s quite special because we know what everyone has been through and why they’re all doing it and who they’re doing it for. It makes it more special as a unit.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? There are so many comedy moments. Me and Jake have just been hammering each other and giving each other so much stick. Him mainly having a go at me because I can’t ice-skate. We’ve done some really fun things already for the shows. It’s been really good fun. When we met the girls we started doing some Dirty Dancing lifting, we went in a freezing lake. Obviously going in a lake in autumn in this country is not ideal, but it was really fun and we really bonded, I don’t know if that will be in the final routine, but it was good.

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show?All my friends and family are proud and just can’t wait to watch it now and have a laugh at my expense. They’re very supportive and understand that it’s for a great cause.

Press pack interview with Jake Quickenden

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? I’ve wanted to do this for years. I want to help. If me telling my story, about how I’ve been affected by cancer, can help one person then that’s amazing, especially in these times when people are not getting the treatment they need and not seeking the help they need because of Covid. I lost my dad and my little brother to cancer and my mum suffered from skin cancer as well, so it’s torn my family apart really. But I also want to show people that if you have had loss, you can come out the other side of it.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? Well, I did a musical called ‘Hair’ where I had to get naked every day, so the nakedness is not a massive deal to me and I don’t really feel this is about how I look - there’s a much bigger agenda going on with why we are all doing it. So my biggest challenge at the moment is that I’ve just badly injured my shoulder and arm and had to have some major surgery on it, so the timing is terrible. I’m not allowed to skate yet so I’ve been rehearsing the choreography off the ice. Thankfully I can skate from Dancing on Ice but it’s not ideal! I’m just hoping it heals in time for me to do the full routine. To be honest though, if I have to - I’ll skate out with my sling on. I’m still going to do it, no matter what!

How have you got on with your fellow performers? I feel like we bonded really quickly. It’s a really tight-knit group. We’ve all been touched by cancer and to hear everyone’s stories brings you closer together. Honestly, we’ve laughed and laughed and laughed together and we’ve cried and cried and cried together, and I really hoping everyone watching will feel that too.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? It’s so hard to choose one because we just have such a laugh every day. Me and Chris are kind of the naughty ones. We get told off a lot. We give each other a hard time but hopefully it comes across on camera – people might think it looks like we hate each other but we’re actually really close!

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? They’ve kind of just got used to the fact that I will put myself out of my comfort zone. Nothing really surprises them, I don’t think. They are really excited. My Mum’s really proud of me for doing it. Obviously losing Oliver and my Dad – she knows how hard it is for me to talk about that. So, the fact I’m putting myself out there and talking about it in this, she’s really proud. My mates will probably take the p*** out of my when I’m naked on the ice but you know, it is what it is! Bring it on!

Press pack interview with Perri Kiely

What made you agree to take part in The Real Full Monty on Ice? I’ve been working behind the scenes alongside Ash for the past couple of series getting the men ready for the final performance, so although I might not actually be performing every year I feel like I have seen the amazing journey that everyone goes through from start to finish. You get to see how much it means for everyone to be there, raising awareness, but there’s still that slight disconnect so to be performing alongside the men this year and properly joining them on the journey is something I would never turn down.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? I think the biggest challenge is fairly obvious this year, taking it to the ice. So I think from knowing how hard it has been in previous years and knowing how much work everyone has to put in, it just brings a huge amount of added pressure. But hey, go big or go home I guess!

What is your biggest fear about the final performance? My biggest fear for the final performance is for anything to go wrong! I know that this year is bigger and better than ever before but that also comes with a crazy amount of risk. Everyone individually has a lot to think about in this final performance so a small mess up from someone could have huge knock on effect.

How have you got on with your fellow performers? Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a nicer group of guys to be sharing this experience with. Trying to take part in something as big and personal as this as a team that doesn’t get on, would be impossible, but we all get on so well and all have each other’s backs.

Have there been any memorable or funny moments during filming that you can tell us about? There’s already been so many memorable moments on the show but I think tying giant testicles around my waist and screaming at people as we sail down the River Thames is probably a personal highlight!

What do your friends and family think of you taking part in the show? All my friends and family are super proud that I’m taking part this year, cancer is something that has unfortunately affected my family, so the fact that I’m taking part and spreading awareness for something so important, feels really special. BUT! I keep forgetting that I’m getting completely naked at the end of that and the thought of everyone seeing me full pickle is…well, not something I want to think about at all!

THE ICE SKATING PROFESSIONALS

Also performing in The Real Full Monty on Ice 2020 final performance are:

Alex Murphy Sylvain Longchambon Alex Demetriou Vicky Ogden Maria Fillipov Katie Stainsby Oscar Peter Arthur Ebel Matthew Fogg Poppy Miles David King Stacey Kemp

Please credit: The Real Full Monty On Ice is on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th December at 9pm on ITV’

Press Contacts Lyndsey Large (Mon-Tues) Lyndsey.Large@itv.com Hannah Green (Weds - Fri) [email protected] Pictures: Peter Gray [email protected]