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Sugababe Heidi Range admits ice skating is taking her mind off a broken heart
The 28-year-old singer says the ITV show has proved a lifeline after she broke up with fiance, DJ Dave Berry, after eight years together
Love life's on ice: Heidi with ex Dave BerryPA
Considering she has spent the last few months being flung around the ice in a series of potentially bone-breaking moves, it’s a surprise to learn Heidi Range is terrified of skating.
And not just skating – a chat with the Sugababes star quickly reveals she is terrified of almost everything.
But in a more emotional moment, she also opens up about how her stint on Dancing On Ice is helping take her mind off her agonising split from the man she planned to marry.
The 28-year-old singer says the ITV show has proved a lifeline after she broke up with fiance, DJ Dave Berry, after eight years together.
Admitting the show followed an “incredibly difficult” time in her personal life, Heidi says: “I never thought for a second I’d do it.
“I’d never have considered it because I really am a scaredy cat by nature – I’m terrified of almost everything.
“I’m scared of walking in the dark, sleeping on my own, driving on motorways, heights – I’m a genuinely safety conscious person.
“The other day me and my skating partner Andrei Lipanov almost had our only row because he didn’t have his seatbelt on – it was bothering me.
“I’ve even got myself a helmet for practising, even though Andrei insists I don’t need one.”
Showgirl: Heidi says she's embracing the outfits needed for the programmeITV
But she says the show was a welcome relief when her relationship with Capital FM breakfast show presenter Dave broke down ahead of their planned marriage later this year – Heidi had already decided on a Vera Wang dress.
She says: “Dancing on Ice was a great distraction from the break-up. It’s been good fun and different to throw myself into rather than sitting at home thinking about it.
“I’ll be lost when it finishes because it really does take over your whole life, and I have gone from a really difficult phase to throwing myself into this and absolutely loving it.
“I really don’t know what I’ll do with myself when it’s over.”
The break-up stunned fans who had considered the pair one of the strongest in showbusiness when Heidi made the announcement on her Twitter page in December. She wrote: “Very sadly, after eight years together, myself and Dave decided to separate. I wish him nothing but the best in life.”
Although the pair are determined to remain pals, they had a tiff when they met at last month’s National TV Awards. After Heidi referred to a gift she had bought Dave, he retorted: “Well, I still pay your Sky bill”.
Now, chatting at the show’s training rink, where she put me through my paces on the ice with a few of her newly learnt moves, Heidi added: “I’m really enjoying being single right now.”
The welcome distraction from her personal trauma may even have made her countless skating injuries worthwhile.
She says: “I hurt my knees yesterday, but the first bad fall was when my bone came right out of my wrist. I fell while practising a really simple step but it was an awkward fall. I heard it make a loud crack. They took me straight to hospital, where I was sobbing as they told me they thought it was broken.
Elegant: With dancing partner AndreiITV
“I was distraught at the thought of having to quit the show, but luckily it wasn’t broken. The bone had just come out of the joint. The physio is like a magician and she managed to twist it in a funny way and shove it back in.
“It’s become so frequent I’ve got used to being in pain. I’m almost expecting to be carrying an ice pack, heat pack, stitches – I’ve stopped being shocked.
“I cut my leg open with the blade of my skate on film week – the blade went into my leg and I had to have it stitched up. It was only one stitch but I wasn’t even surprised anymore.
“I’m at the stage where as long as the bones aren’t broken I’m fine with it.”
Injuries almost ended Heidi’s chances in the contest even before it began, when her original professional skating partner Sylvain Longchambon was forced to pull out days before the first live show.
An injury in rehearsals left the Frenchman with a torn bicep, and appeared to leave Heidi’s dreams in tatters after finally gaining the confidence to be lifted on the ice. “I had six weeks learning with Sylvain before Christmas, and then on the last day before the break we had a show and tell session where everyone performed their routines for the other contestants.
“We’d just started skating and out of nowhere he ruptured his bicep, right at the beginning of the routine. That’s when I met Andrei. We only had about six days of training before the first show so I did worry we would struggle.”
Heidi admits: “I was upset. You get really close to your partner and spend and lot of time together building up trust.
“So to then be lifted up into the air by someone different is terrifying. We’ve been working together about five weeks now and that trust has come back, but I had to just do it straight away with Andrei and that was terrifying.
Oh, Hei: She lifts a leg in training
“I just had to do it because the show was coming up, he kept asking, ‘Don’t you trust me?’ and I was telling him I did, but I don’t trust myself. I’m jumpy and edgy, I wriggle and shake.
“It’s a very unnatural feeling being thrown around and lifted up in the air. Every time I try something new I scream my head off.” After six weeks on the show Heidi has finally come to love the competition, and is desperate to stay in the running despite criticism from some of the judges and a few lecherous remarks about her racy outfits.
“The judges have been very fair and constructive,” she says. “So I appreciate them and take on board what they say and try to work on what they tell me.
“I like Jason Gardiner, I know him and he’s a lovely guy, but I think the new panel are brilliant – Louie is fantastic and I just love listening to what he comes out with on everyone’s comments.
“You don’t see a lot of the judges off screen – occasionally in hair and make-up but to be honest I think they’re trying to keep it very professional. You don’t meet them in the bar after the show on a Sunday night or anything. I guess they don’t feel it’s right, and don’t want anyone suggesting that they’re getting too friendly with any of us.
“It’s nice to know that people like the outfits – I tried on the gold catsuit before Christmas and it really scared me.
“I genuinely upped my gym sessions and cut down on carbs over Christmas, but I think that was probably the scariest outfit.
“I think on this show you’ve just got to embrace the costumes – I don’t know that I’m going to win any votes from them, but I guess some blokes might be tuning in for that kind of thing.
“I can’t imagine why they would, but then I haven’t got a man’s mind…”
OK, I admit it. I’ve sat watching Dancing On Ice and scoffed at some
of the hapless performances. Not any more. Ice moves: Our man has a go
Ice cool: Simon and Heidi looking goodDaily Mirror
At least not since I landed flat on my backside as I tried to show off a few, er, skills after my interview with Heidi.
The things they’re asked to do are tough – really tough.
As I found out when I went sprawling in my slashed, little red Lycra number when Heidi helped me try a few moves.
Ice fool: Simon needs Heidi's helping handITV
Dad must be so proud.
Dancing On Ice 2012: Heidi Range ‘sobbed’ when she thought she would be forced to leave
February 12th, 2012 by Lisa McGarry.
Heidi Range has admitted that she was devastated, when it looked like she might have to leave Dancing On Ice last month.
Before the ITV series kicked off for it’s 2012 run, the Sugababes star injured her wrist and at one point worried that it was broken and she would be forced to pull out of the lineup. Keith Chegwin and Chesney Hawkes had both injured themselves so badly, that they were forced to leave the show before the televised rounds even began and when it looked like Range would follow suit, she confessed that she sobbed over the prospect.
“They took me straight to hospital, where I was sobbing as they told me they thought it was broken,” she explained to The Mirror. “I was distraught at the thought of having to quit the show, but luckily it wasn’t broken.”
However, Heidi has had to endure quite a lot of pain and describing how her injury was treated, she continued:
“The bone had just come out of the joint. The physio is like a magician and she managed to twist it in a funny way and shove it back in.
“It’s become so frequent I’ve got used to being in pain. I’m almost expecting to be carrying an ice pack, heat pack, stitches – I’ve stopped being shocked… I’m at the stage where as long as the bones aren’t broken I’m fine with it.”
Range’s bad luck continued all the same and six days before the series started on ITV1, her partner Sylvain Longchambon injured his rib and was forced to pull out. He was replaced by pro skater Andrei Lipanov and Heidi admitted that she was ‘upset’ at having to bond with a new partner, in such a short space of time.
The blonde beauty recently revealed that she is dreading Dancing On Ice coming to an end, as it has proved to be a huge distraction for her, following her breakup from former fiance Dave Berry.
Dancing On Ice returns tonight, for a Valentines Day themed episode and we’ve been told that the costumes planned for Heidi and fellow contestants Jennifer Ellison are hot, hot, hot!
Being thrown around an ice rink and attempting dangerous moves that could result in serious injury is not what most people would enjoy.
Although Heidi Range is terrified of falling flat on Dancing On Ice she is happy that the show is helping distract her from her recent heartbreak.
The Sugababe split up with the man she wanted to marry and after eight years together the pain was too much to bare.
Happy days: Heidi Range says Dancing On Ice is helping her get over Dave Berry
The 28-year-old was engaged to radio presenter Dave Berry and after they broke up she admitted that times got tough and she found the whole situation 'incredibly difficult.'
She told the Daily Mirror: 'Dancing on Ice was a great distraction from the break-up. It’s been good fun and different to throw myself into rather than sitting at home thinking about it.'
The show has acted like a safety net for the Liverpool born singer and although she has just announced that she will be taking part in the DOI tour, she is scared about finishing the program.
Ice queen: The Sugababe has lost weight since taking part in the show
She told the newspaper: 'I really don’t know what I’ll do with myself when it’s over.'
Heidi said that the end of last year was the worst time of her life but she is slowly becoming herself again and there are no hard feelings between her and Berry.
'We’re still great friends and I saw him last week... but it’s hard. Dancing On Ice has got me through it. It’s given me a new lease of life,' she told the Sunday Mirror last month.
Slim fit: Miss Range is back in shape thanks to Dancing On Ice training
Heidi, had been engaged to Dave, 33, over New Year in 2009.
She added: 'My life’s been turned upside down and I don’t know what is going to happen.
'I’m thinking about a solo album, I’m thinking about TV presenting, I’m thinking the world is my oyster right now. For 10 years every part of my life has been planned. It’s been in the diary. It’s exciting to be making a fresh start.
'This show has been brilliant. It’s given me confidence and I’ve got my groove back.'
She revealed that even the couple's closest friends didn't know about the split until it was made public.
The star has lost more than a stone since preparation began for the show and fits into a size six jeans.
'The weight loss has been brilliant,' she said.
'I was just over eight-and-a-half stone before I started. I’m 5ft 2in and I’ve always had to work really hard on my figure.
'Now I’m more toned than ever. I see my personal trainer three times a week, on top of the skate training.'
Sugababes' Heidi Range: I never thought I'd do Dancing On Ice
Sugababes' Heidi Range has admitted she has no idea how she initially got through Dancing On Ice - because she is such a "scaredy cat".
The star took to the TV talent show with a sense of trepidation, it seems - but she soon grew to love the show.
And she even admitted that she's scared of the dark and sleeping on her own. She told the Mirror:
"I never thought for a second I’d do it. I’d never have considered it because I really am a scaredy cat by nature - I'm terrified of almost everything. I'm scared of walking in the dark, sleeping on my own, driving on motorways, heights - I'm a genuinely safety conscious person. The other day me and my skating partner Andrei Lipanov almost had our only row because he didn't have his seatbelt on - it was bothering me. I've even got myself a helmet for practising, even though Andrei insists I don't need one."
Range had also previously said that she feels her stint on the show has helped her get through her break-up with long-term boyfriend Dave Berry.
www.rosemaryconley.tv Week 5 of Rosemary Conley's exclusive behind the scenes Dancing on Ice video diary. This week she relaxes in the bar with Heidi Range, Andy Whyment and Andrei Lipanov and chats all things DOI! She talks about her cracked ribs, sick lift and shows us the close up details on her gorgeous show costumes!
For all the up to the minute news on Dancing on Ice follow @RosemaryConley on Twitter
@Amelle_Berrabah aww send my love to Layla and Lil man :) Defo gota link up babe we got some serious catching up to do Lol..Send ur numba!X
Sugababes’ Amelle Berrabah and Dappy’s baby mother Kaye have tweeted each other excitedly this week about needing a catch up session, with Amelle saying that she missed Kaye.
