Dancing on Ice star Adele Roberts has shared that she would not have taken part in this year’s show “without a stoma.” The former BBC Radio One DJ finished in third place during the recent series of the ice-skating competition.
Speaking exclusively to The Times, Adele spoke about signing up to the series after she found out she was cancer free. In 2021, she confirmed she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment and began using a stoma bag for bowel cancer.
She said: “I wouldn’t have done Dancing on Ice without a stoma. I’m not a dancer. I’m not a performer. I don’t do make-up and pretty things. To have an ostomy, show what’s possible, help kids, open the conversation, lessen the stigma.”
Adele also opened up about taking part in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2021 during the pandemic. She revealed that she experienced “cancer symptoms” whilst she was on the show.
“Looking back now, I was really, really ill. My body was succumbing to the cancer,” she said. “Bloated tummy, lack of appetite, lethargy — a massive one, if you’re tired all the time and don’t know why — and a change in bowel habits.”
Before she made her debut on Dancing on Ice, Adele’s mother Jackie sadly passed away. Sharing a photo of her mother holding onto a pair of skating boots, Adele, 45, also uploaded a video of her mum watching her skate. She announced the tragic news on January 21.
She penned: “For you Mum. Tonight’s performance was dedicated to the memory of my beautiful Mum, Jackie Roberts. 01.09.62 – 04.01.24. I didn’t want to say anything until I’d managed to get through our routine tonight.”
Adele and her partner Mark Hanretty were one of the hot favourites to win the 2024 series. However, they were defeated in the final by Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas.
Last year, Adele made history after taking part in the London Marathon. She became the fastest woman to run the event with a stoma bag in three hours, thirty minutes and twenty-two seconds.
Speaking about the achievement, she said on X: “Thank you to every single person who has helped make today possible. We’ve just set a #GuinnessWorldRecord for the fastest marathon with an ileostomy. … less then 12 months since I stopped chemotherapy. Anything is possible.”
