12 January 2024 , 21:14
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With its headbangers, spins, jumps and flips, Dancing on Ice is already a daunting prospect for any celeb skater.
But for Emmerdale actress Roxy Shahidi there’s an added pressure as she gets ready for this year’s show – she has some very big skates to fill. Former Emmerdale stars Matthew Wolfenden, Gaynor Faye and Hayley Tamaddon all won the competition.
And two years ago, Joe-Warren Plant, who plays Roxy’s on-screen son Jacob Gallagher, was tipped to lift the trophy before having to pull out due to illness. Roxy, 40, who plays wedding planner Leyla Harding, says: “My whole fictional Emmerdale family have been on it – Matthew and Joe.
“Everyone from Emmerdale who’s been in it has won apart from Joe, who had to go home because he got Covid. Everyone keeps saying to me: ‘Every-one from Emmerdale’s won so you’re going to win’ and I’m like: ‘I don’t know!’”
Roxy has revealed the advice her Emmerdale co-stars have given her (ITV)The show returns on Sunday with Holly Willoughby coming back to host alongside new co-presenter Stephen Mulhern. And Roxy has been getting as much inside info as possible before getting her skates on. “Matthew very much prepared me for how tough it would be,” she says. “He kept saying, ‘It’s going to be really hard work. Don’t push yourself too hard too soon or you will get injured’.”
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And Joe, 21, has been very supportive and encouraging of his TV mum. She says: “He is really excited for me. He keeps saying, ‘You’re going to be great.’ I’m like, ‘Don’t give me that pressure, Joe.’ I have started to let myself be a little bit more excited about it recently rather than just absolutely terrified that I’m going to fall on my face.”
Other celebs taking to the ice include ex-Corrie actor Ryan Thomas, former boxer Ricky Hatton, S Club’s Hannah Spearritt and actress Claire Sweeney. Roxy has brought the drama to the Dales ever since she first appeared as Leyla in 2008.
One early explosive storyline was when she was revealed to be the secret mum to of her sister Alicia’s son – her “nephew” Jacob, born after a one-night stand with Alicia’s husband.
Over the years, Leyla’s love life has remained disastrous. She had an on-and-off romance with David Metcalfe, an affair with Jai Sharma while he was married to Leyla's business partner Megan, a love triangle with Jai and his brother Nikhil and a short-lived marriage to Dr Liam Cavanagh that was brought down in flames by her drug addiction.
Roxy with her on-screen son Jacob, played by Joe-Warren PlantRoxy believes Leyla has brought all those woes upon herself, but the actress wouldn’t have it any other way. “Leyla is very selfish. Not somebody I’d be friends with,” she admits. “She’s justified doing the worst things but she genuinely does thinks it’s the right thing. Leyla is ridiculous, good fun and dramatic. I love playing her.”
Gaynor, who played Leyla’s business partner Megan Macey, won Dancing on Ice back in 2006 and has the scars to prove it after coming a cropper doing a headbanger. The move involves a skater being picked up by the ankle and spun around by their partner.
But will Roxy be trying to pull off that move with her pro partner Sylvain Longchambon? She says: “I completely trust him, he’s been doing it for years. But it’s whether or not you can face that fear factor. Gaynor still has a scar on the chin from that, so I don’t know. I’m going slow and steady at the moment but I wouldn’t rule anything out.”
In October Gogglebox star Stephen Lustig-Webb had to withdraw from competing after breaking his ankle in a freak accident while training. He has been replaced by Olympic legend Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards. “Hearing about Stephen’s fall was scary and just reaffirmed my slow and steady approach,” Roxy adds.
“I did become incredibly scared after I signed the contract to do the show. It was only when I got on the ice I realised how little I knew and how hard it was going to be. It does feel like a new lease of life The excitement is bubbling up!”
Roxy recently filmed for Emmerdale with Dancing on Ice star choreographers and judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who made a cameo in a festive episode in which Belle Dingle proposed to Tom King.
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The former Olympic champions have been impressed by Roxy’s flexibility on the ice, which stems from her being a qualified yoga teacher. But will this give her the edge?
“Everyone says that,” laughs Roxy. “Everyone says, ‘You’re going to be great because you do yoga’. But I’m on skates. Anything anyone can do, try and do it on ice. It doesn’t work.”
Away from the Dales, Roxy who lives in Nottingham, is mum to a six-year-old daughter with husband of 13 years, actor Arsher Ali, 39, who she met when they starred in a play together.
Roxy has not publicly revealed the name of her daughter and keeps her out of the spotlight – but Line of Duty fans will recognise Arsher.
He played DC Hari Bains in series two and also starred in the Chris Morris black comedy Four Lions. Along with her Emmer-dale co-stars, the ITV soap’s bossed have been very supportive of Roxy going on the ice dance show, allowing her a lighter load while the competition is going on.
She says: “I can’t be a mum and learn to ice skate and become an athlete and work full time. The producers said to me, ‘We haven’t got a massive storyline coming up so we’ll just fit you in’. So they’ve allowed me to take a step back in order to focus on Dancing On Ice.”
- Dancing On Ice returns to ITV and ITVX tomorrow for a nine-week run