Ryan Thomas became emotional before his Dancing On Ice debut as he told fans he was dedicating his performance to his late dad.
The former Coronation Street‘s dad, Dougie, died in late 2020. On Sunday, Ryan performed for the first time on Dancing On Ice as his fiancée Lucy Mecklenburgh and brothers, Adam and Scott Thomas, supported him in the audience.
Before his routine, Ryan shared a video to his Instagram.
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Ryan Thomas dedicated Dancing On Ice performance to late dad
In the clip, Ryan said: “I’ve got all the family coming. I’ve got my brothers, my fiancée, my sister-in-law, my mum, all my friends.
“But tonight…” as he began tearing up.
Ryan went on: “Tonight’s for you, Dad. Happy birthday! I love you so much.”
He then blew a kiss into the camera. Ryan captioned the video: “Feeling very blessed to have all my family here tonight. Love you Dad I know you’re watching somewhere with a southern comfort one piece of ice!”
Ryan sure made his dad, and his family, proud last night after topping the leaderboard with his performance. He and professional skating partner Amani Fancy performed to Sex on Fire by Kings Of Leon.
When it came to the scores from the judges, Ashley Banjo gave the pair a 6.5 out of 10 while Oti Mabuse gave them a seven, Jayne Torvill gave 6.5 as did Christopher Dean.
Tonight’s for you, Dad. Happy birthday! I love you so much.
Ryan said after his scores: “I was loving it on the outside, not on the inside. It’s the most nerve-wracking experience to ever be on this ice.”
Amani then became emotional as she said: “Ryan is his own harshest critic. I’m just so pleased that he’s showed everyone what he can do. I just want you to believe in yourself.”
Ryan’s fans were also impressed and shared their thoughts on X.
One person said: “Ryan Thomas was fantastic. Looked like he was enjoying every minute of it too.”
Another added: “Rooting for Ryan Thomas. He’s really good already.”
Dancing On Ice continues this Sunday (January 21) from 6.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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