Dancing on Ice’s semi-final turned emotional on Sunday evening as Kye Whyte took to the ice in a skate routine dedicated to his mum, who is battling cancer.
The Olympian spoke in a frank interview prior to the performance in which he detailed his secret heartache as his mum Tracey Hill battles leukaemia.
Kye told ITV viewers: “She’s currently in treatment and she’s finding it really hard. I’m really struggling to deal with it. I don’t talk about it at all.”
Kye, who has been tipped as the show’s underdog after surviving numerous skate-offs, also revealed the semi-final of the ITV skating competition coincided with his mum’s birthday.
Kye and his professional skate partner Morgan Swales took to the ice in an emotional and stellar performance set to Ben E King’s Stand By Me.
At the end of the routine, Kye said: “It was great. Obviously it was for my mum. Happy birthday Mum.”
After the judges scored Kye’s routine a score of 37, judge Oti Mabuse said: “It was such a beautiful performance you gave.”
As she continued, she began to tear up as her voice thickened, saying: “I think for me, regardless of what happens tonight, the fact you’re going through what you’re going through, you’ve been through so many skate-offs, you still manage to come out there - it’s making me emotional - you come out here every single week with a smile on your face and perform. You should be proud of yourself.”
The 22-year-old is up against former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt, ex-Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole, The Vamps guitarist Connor Ball and trained dancer Regan Gascoigne in the semi-final of the ITV show this weekend.
This comes as the Olympic BMX silver medallist has weighed in on claims the ITV show is fixed for professional dancers, saying he’s not worried by the backgrounds of his fellow competitors.
“All I can do is just skate to the best of my ability and it’s in the judges’ hands and in the public’s hands,” he told The Sun.
“But when it comes to the skate-off, the person who stays is down to the judges and I’ve been the one they picked. So I’m grateful for that.”
The sportsman, who has been in the skate-off four times this series so far, said he enjoys “being the underdog”, and he’s delighted to see his scores aren’t too far off those contestants who have a professional background as a dancer.
“I love being the underdog, I love it so much. ’m just trying to live up to all their standards. It makes me enjoy skating more, knowing my scores ain’t too far away from them guys,” Kye explained.
