The broadcaster penned a tribute to her “biggest supporter from day one”.
Adele Roberts has dedicated her first performance on Dancing on Ice to her late mother, who passed away at the start of the month, aged 61.
The BBC Radio 1 presenter excelled with an impressive routine set to Clearly by Grace Vanderwaal, which scored 27.5 points in total, leaving her joint first on the leaderboard (tied with Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards).
It wasn’t until after the episode had been broadcast that Roberts revealed a personal tragedy had occurred during training – that being the loss of her “incredible” mother, Jackie.
In an Instagram post, she explained: “I didn’t want to say anything until I’d managed to get through our routine tonight. So apologies if it seemed I was overly emotional. My heart is broken and I miss my mum so much.
“Saying goodbye to her this week was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. My mum got to see the start of our routine… and tonight I wanted to finish it in her honour.”
Roberts expressed gratitude to her family, friends and the Dancing on Ice team, including professional dance partner Mark Hanretty, for helping her through “one of the toughest weeks of my life”.
Speaking to Hanretty, she continued: “I know how much you wanted to help me do my mum proud and I know it would have been playing on your mind all night.
“You are incredible. Thank you for teaching me to dance, to skate and joy of expressing emotion through my body. Your sport is so beautiful. I still can’t believe tonight happened.”
While it would have been completely understandable for Roberts to withdraw from Dancing on Ice under these circumstances, she went on to say that she and Mark “promise to keep trying our best and give it 100 percent”.
Read more:
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She ended the post with a touching tribute: “To my biggest supporter from day one – my incredible mum. Goodnight my love. I shall think of you and miss you everyday of my life. Forever my hero.”
Dancing on Ice continues on ITV at 6:20pm on Sunday 28th January 2024. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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