By Katie Begley
Adele Roberts says she has beaten her body confidence issues because after battling cancer, she is just thrilled to have “a body that works”.
The DJ and Dancing On Ice star, 44, revealed in 2021 that she was being treated for bowel cancer. She was given the all-clear in 2022. And although Adele admits having a self-conscious wobble about her outfit before her ice debut, she says she now embraces how she looks – stoma bag and all.
She said: “Sexy? Oh no, I’m not sexy. But it’s something I’m working on. I’ve not been body confident most of my life, but when I got my stoma, I started to change. I realised that my body is there to keep me alive, and it’s an amazing body.”
“It’s made me stop being a bit of a brat – to realise I’m lucky to have a body that works and to start appreciating it. I’m still getting used to things… to the way that I look. But that’s part of the reason I’m doing the show – to push myself and see myself in a different way.”
Adele’s fight back to full health has left her vulnerable, with injuries on the ice so far including a fractured wrist, popped ribs and bruising. But the Radio 1 DJ, who is skating with pro Mark Hanretty, says she refuses to let the pain hold her back.
She said: “The problem is, my body is recovering from cancer, so if I fall over I can really hurt myself. I’ve fractured my wrist, I’ve popped my ribs out and I bruise really easily. But thank God I don’t fall over as much now, because I’m Mr Glass – I just shatter.
“Mark has his work cut out, but the one thing I’ve promised is I’ll work my backside off. Ice skating is so demanding that you have to go all in… you have to give it everything.”
Adele is joint favourite to win the show, alongside Made in Chelsea star Miles Nazaire. She says that if she does win, she will dedicate it to her mum Jackie, who died shortly before the show began.
“My mum’s funeral was the same week as my first show,” she said. “It was hard. Once we started to celebrate my mum’s life, they were all like, ‘Go on, go and do it’, and that empowered me. I take each day as it comes but if I could win it for her, that’d be amazing.”
