Dancing on Ice 2024 finalist Greg Rutherford has opened up about his concerns that he wouldn't be able to continue in the competition due to injury.
Olympic and world champion athlete Greg confirmed last month that he'd sustained a groin injury while warming up for a previous episode. At the time, he added that he hoped the injury "doesn't get any worse".
Speaking ahead of Sunday's (March 10) Dancing on Ice final, Greg told press including Digital Spy: "There's most certainly been a few moments where I thought this [making the final] probably isn't going to happen – the worst one being when the groin tore, which will be four weeks on Saturday.
Related: Dancing on Ice releases footage of rehearsal accidents
"When that happened, I thought that was me done, to be honest, because the pain… in ice skating you have to turn constantly, your hips oscillating the whole time, so when you can't do that, you're thinking 'that's me finished'."
Reflecting on his feelings about the injury and his recovery programme, Greg added: "I was gutted at first. It's like classic me, a little injury right at the wrong time. But Sharon, the physio who works on the show, has done a tireless job to keep me going and doing well.
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"And we are currently in a situation where, yes it's still healing, there's a little bit of soreness and tightness every so often, but I'm able to do what I need to do.
"So thankfully we are here, and I'm thrilled to be here as well."
Related: Dancing on Ice has fallen into the same insidious trap as Strictly
Greg, who will compete against Adele Roberts, Ryan Thomas and Miles Nazaire in the final, also opened up about the prospect of being named Dancing on Ice's 2024 champion.
"Of course, now the last hurdle is trying to do the Bolero, and only two of us will do that, but it’s one of those things where I'm so happy to have made the final, I’ve managed to go through the whole show," he said.
"Last week I got voted the best skater in our solo skate, that was a really proud moment for me. So all in all, thrilled to bits, [I'm] ignoring the fact that there's still a bit of an injury there, but that's fine.
"I'm hoping everybody loves the showcase, we get to do the Bolero, and then who knows at that point."
Dancing on Ice's 2024 final airs on Sunday, March 10 at 6.25pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
Upon remembering to log off the internet, Kate enjoys live theatre, dance and comedy, appreciating nature, baking (badly), tending a recently-rented allotment (equally badly) and pampering one very spoiled rescue cat named Jolene.
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Soaps Writer, Digital Spy and Inside Soap
After studying for an English degree at the University of Exeter, Erin completed a PPA-accredited Masters in Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. She first joined the Digital Spy team in late 2023, writing across both news and features.
Erin is a fan of all things TV, from comedy and drama to reality TV and soaps.
