Ryan Thomas has said that he hopes the final of Dancing On Ice will mean his body can recover from undergoing intensive training while on the series.
The former Coronation Street actor, 39, will face Made In Chelsea star Miles Nazaire, Olympic long jumper Greg Rutherford and former Radio 1 presenter Adele Roberts when the ITV skating competition concludes on Sunday.
Thomas said he has an inflation of his shoulder, called a bursa, which has been causing him “some discomfort” recently.
He added: “It was round the back, and now it’s come around the front of the shoulder and it is constant, it’s really starting to get quite painful.
“Your adrenaline seems to get you through it, and then it starts to wear off and then you feel it again, and you wake up with it and you just forget about it and then… the physio here is unbelievable and the team are unbelievable.
“So I’m in good hands, but it’s just getting me through that final now and rehearsals and we have to run things over and over again, there’s a lot of, technical stuff, lifts, still in there and there’s no avoiding (it) now (but) we try and take things out, put new things in, just try and take wear and tear off it but some things are unavoidable.”
Thomas also said that the skating has been getting “harder and harder” and he is keeping his energy up by knowing there is “light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that I’m going to be back home with my family”.
He said: “The body’s not far off coming to a standstill, but it’s just mentally getting your head around ‘you can do this’ and it takes a toll on your body more than anything else now.”
Thomas also said he “keeps reminding” Adam Thomas that he has got further than him on Strictly Come Dancing, when his brother, the Waterloo Road actor, was the sixth contestant eliminated in 2023.
He also praised Roberts, who has been recovering after being declared cancer-free in 2022, for getting through the show which is “really difficult mentally and physically”.
Thomas said: “I know how difficult this is for me and you know what Adele goes through, I’ve no idea.
“But I never see her complain, I never see her give up and she always seems happy and it’s tough to put a smile on your face all the time.”
Nazaire, 28, said viewers have a “positive feeling in their heart” while watching Roberts skating.
He added: “You’ve been the best girl on solo, you really know how to skate on your own, like when you’re on the training rink, you just skate.”
He also said that audience of Dancing On Ice is “a lot kinder” than his experiences on reality TV.
Nazaire added: “(It is) a real nice support system. There’s always going to be negative comments out there but I think in general, the show brings a lot of beauty to everyone.”
He teased that he has some “newness” in his TV career coming but he said the end of the series will also be a “shock”.
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 duos performance to Ravel’s Bolero in Sarajevo at the 1984 Winter Games, at the weekend.
The final of Dancing On Ice is on Sunday at 6.25pm.