It’s good news for those Dancing On Ice fans wondering how Gareth Thomas is after being taken ill during the semi-final on Sunday 3 March. Gareth was back to his smiling best on Wednesday 6 March as he joined Lorraine Kelly and Aled Jones on ITV’s Daybreak to talk about his time on the show.
Gareth had been suffering from motion sickness ,after 2 week’s of rehearsals for the flying routine he was due to perform as one of his two semi-final dances. Six foot three tall Gareth just could not adjust to spinning upside down in the flying harness and just before the live show, during the dress rehearsals, he was sick again and starting to become dehydrated. After performing his first skate on Sunday with partner Robin Johnstone it was clear that Gareth could not continue. After the medics had checked him over he was forced to pull out of the rest of the show, including the skate-off should he be in the bottom two. As a result the telephone vote was cancelled and Matt Lapinksas, Beth Tweddle and Luke Campbell all went through to the final.
Gareth explained to Daybreak viewers how he was feeling: “I was given the all clear yesterday by the doctors. I can’t wait to get back on the ice for Sunday’s show when all the contestants return. I will continue skating but I’m never flying EVER again. I was just getting worse and worse the more I did it. Every time I went up in the air I get disorientated and get really bad headaches and I end up vomiting”
Despite Gareth’s sickness he is clearly loving the skating: “I’ve had a blast on the show. I’ve loved every minute. I really enjoyed it. I got on the ice for the first time ever a few months ago and I had a smile and I didn’t stop smiling all the way through to the end.”
Gareth also had something to say about the reaction of the rugby community: “I had a lot of flack coming through on my phone from my rugby mates when they saw me first in my sequins. But when they started watching my performance they said ‘hats off to you’ because everybody knows how hard it is – and to do it in a semi-graceful manner.
Some fans of the show were unhappy that the flying routine denied Gareth an almost certain place in the final. Without taking anything away from the other celebrities, it certainly seems that flying gives a big advantage to smaller framed skaters. For the record here are the heights of the four semi-finalists:
- Gareth Thomas 6ft 3″ (1.91m)
- Matt Lapinskas 5ft 10″ (1.78m)
- Luke Campbell 5ft 9″ (1.75m)
- Beth Tweddle 5ft 2″ (1.61m)
Gareth was very sporting about this: “I didn’t want to go through to the final unless I go through fairly. As a sportsman I have to go though fairly or I don’t go through at all. I want to be there on Sunday as we have all got really really close as a group and I want to be there to support the three finalists and to see everyone else”.
It was a shame for Gareth that he did not make the final but good luck to all the finalist for this Sunday.
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