Adele Roberts reflects on her Dancing on Ice journey: ‘Being alive is me winning’

Radio presenter Adele Roberts has said being alive is “me winning”, as she prepares to take part in the grand final of ITV skating competition Dancing on Ice.

The DJ, 44, who was declared cancer-free in 2022, has been competing on the TV show to raise awareness of bowel cancer and living with a stoma bag.

She has spoken about the stoma bag during her time on the show, as she skates with professional ice dancer Mark Hanretty.

Last week, she landed in the skate-off but managed to impress the judges over Love Island star Amber Davies and remain in the competition as the last female contestant.

She will skate in the final against former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas, Made In Chelsea star Miles Nazaire, and Olympic long jumper Greg Rutherford.

Speaking to the PA news agency, she said it felt “weird” when comparing the experiences of watching the show at home and competing on it.

“When you watch the show at home, you think about the celebrity and them winning but when you’re in the competition, you want to do it as a partnership,” she said.

“It’s not about us, it’s about your partner as well but I think, me just even being on the show is me winning, like me being alive is me winning.”

Roberts said she believes that the show has changed lives by helping viewers: “I think they’ve saved lives as well, the awareness of bowel cancer, the fact that they’ve empowered a lot of people with stomas to be more confident to leave the house,” she said.

“I’ve had so many messages along those lines and every week, me and Mark get to skate. Hopefully, it helps even more people.”

Asked about life after the show, Roberts responded: “I think I’m at a point in my life now where I feel lucky to be alive.

“I feel like I’ve got a second chance at life and… I want to mourn my mom, I want to go home with my brothers and sisters and think about her and talk about her and cry about her and be happy about her and then see what happens next because I literally have no job, I am unemployed.

“But for some reason, I’m kind of cool with that. We’ll just see what happens.”

Roberts’ mother died on 4 January, aged 61. She dedicated one of her performances, a poignant routine to “Clearly” by Grace VanderWaal, to her during the series.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of when judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold.

The celebrities will perform a routine, inspired by the skating duo’s performance of Ravel’s “Bolero in Sarajevo” at the 1984 Winter Games, at the weekend.

The 16th season final Dancing On Iceairs on Sunday at 6.25pm on ITV1 and ITVX.