The Traitors star Mollie Pearce was forced to postpone Dancing On Ice training after suffering a nasty injury (Picture: BBC)
Dancing On Ice star Mollie Pearce has revealed she was forced to postpone training on the rink for a month after suffering an injury.
The 22-year-old rose to fame on the second season of The Traitors, where she made it all the way to the final as a Faithful, before a shocking betrayal by winner Harry Clark, who walked away with the £95,150 prize.
Disability model Mollie is now taking on a very different competition, as she joins the ITV skating programme alongside the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave and Ferne McCann.
However, she was forced to postpone her training on the ice with pro partner Colin Grafton before she’d even started, due to a nasty injury.
She said, according to The Sun: ‘Before I met Colin, I actually fractured my wrist.
‘So we were off the ice for four weeks. We had some tough days with that.
‘I think we were really excited to get back on, and you know, it felt like a big setback.’
Mollie is partnered with Colin Grafton on the ITV competition (Picture: Jonathan Hordle/Shutterstock)
Mollie suffered a nasty injury before training began (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Make-A-Wish)
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The pair were able to practise in some ways, with Colin explaining: ‘We used it to our advantage and practised in a dance studio. We got to know each other better.
‘It was difficult being off the ice and not training, but we’re back better than ever.’
Mollie also shared her plans to ‘show people you can do anything’ and give those with disabilities ‘hope’ as she appears as a contestant on Dancing On Ice.
The star wears a stoma bag after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 11, an autoimmune condition causing inflammation in the large intestine, which led to her having her colon removed. She was also born with no fingers on her right hand.
Disability model Mollie wears a stoma bag after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 11 (Picture: Instagram/@mollie_pearcee)
Speaking about appearing on the show, the star, who has worked as a disability model for the likes of Kurt Geiger, Zalando and Bodyform, said: ‘The reaction from it has been amazing, and obviously Adele (Roberts, a DJ who also wears a stoma bag) last year did so much for the stoma community.
‘So hopefully I’m going to continue that, and with limb differences as well, with regards to spreading awareness, and just to show people you can do anything.
‘It’s obviously a very challenging show, it’s very physical, and I think it gives people, even if they haven’t had stoma surgery, it might be something in their future, gives them that little bit of hope that it doesn’t stop you.
‘And I’ve got all these outfits on, and I’m skating around the ice, and I have a stoma bag, but that’s not the main focus.’
Mollie was a Faithful on The Traitors (Picture: BBC)
She quickly became a fan-favourite and made it to the final (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
On The Traitors last year, Mollie opened up about the life-changing surgery she had aged 18, as she raised awareness for people with stoma bags and limb differences.
She said: ‘I’ve spent most of my life, since I was 11, quite unwell.
‘I wanted to advocate for people with a limb difference and a stoma.
‘If I look at myself three years ago, I couldn’t even leave the house at points, so to now be here running around with you guys is kind of crazy.’
Mollie missed out at the final hurdle (Picture: BBC)
Traitor Harry Clark walked away with the prize fund (Picture: BBC)
She later added to the camera: ‘I really struggled to get my head around the fact that I was going to have a stoma.
‘I wasn’t prepared for it at 18 years old, you kind of just want to be out enjoying yourself with your friends, not having this life-changing surgery.
‘Since my surgery, I’ve got my life back, I realised I could wear what I wanted, I could go out, I could enjoy myself.
‘It completely changed my life.’
The Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Dancing On Ice launches on Sunday at 6.30pm on ITV1.
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