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Dancing on Ice star Connor Ball has opened up about his experience on the ITV show, as well as supporting fans through their mental health struggles through a new song
ITV’s Dancing On Ice star Connor Ball has shared a key piece of advice to celebrities training for the rink this year.
The singer and bassist found himself partnered with Alexandra Schauman and sailed straight through to the semi-final having impressed the judges each week last year. But while Connor put on a brave face for the cameras, he admits that before taking to the ice, his legs would “turn to jelly”.
In recent weeks, the future of the show has been thrown into chaos with host Holly Willoughby allegedly refusing to sign her contract for the show. Although no start date has been announced, it’s expected that the wintery programme will return to ITV in January 2024.
Speaking about the show, Connor said: “The team for Dancing On Ice are lovely people so I don’t doubt for a second that whether there’s a replacement, or if Holly carries on with someone new [after Phillip Schofield’s departure], I don’t doubt that they will find someone great in that role. The rest of the team are amazing, so I’m sure the next team will be.”
But he advised the next cast to not be scared of the challenges they will face. Sharing his advice to the incoming cast, Connor said: “Focus, really hard on every move. The weirdest thing for me, was that every time we went on my legs would go completely into jelly. I think that’s one of the reasons I was falling over.” He continued: “Enjoy yourself, have a great time and try not to be too anxious about the performances because it really does make a difference.”
Although Connor’s fans know him for occasionally being clumsy, he revealed he didn’t fall over that often during rehearsals on the ice. While he’s most known for being one-quarter of The Vamps, Connor, 27, is also making waves as half of the duo, Lunars, alongside drummer Sasa Macek.
The pair have returned with their latest hit, Figure It Out – which focuses on the importance of being honest and open during times of need. Discussing the track, he said: “Figure It Out is probably the most pop-sounding track we’ve done to date.
“I went on a trip to LA and I had this guitar part, for some reason, that guitar part gave me the concept of a song. I went into a writing session and I explained the concept and what I wanted to write about, we wrote it within a few hours. We wrote it naturally.” However, Connor explained that it was “weird” as he hadn’t expected to be so honest and open with somebody he had just met.
While the star may put on a different face for work purposes, he bravely admits that he still struggles with his mental health. Acknowledging that medication can work for other people, Connor says that he found a boost in training at the gym as well as rock climbing.
“Being open with people, talking to my family and friends,” he said before continuing: “Whether they’re going through something or not, it’s just nice to vent to someone about how you feel and I think that’s a very good way of getting through it.” He also praised his The Vamps bandmates, James Brittain-McVey, Bradley Will Simpson and Tristan Evans for being a support network while they are on the road together.
For the track, Connor and Sasa decided to involve their fans in the music video and invited them to film with the two lads in Birmingham City Centre following a spur-of-the-moment decision. “Loads of people turned up, it was super nice,” he gushed. Connor added: “There were a few awesome moments where people were sharing their stories that were like very close to them. One girl was saying between Lunars and Vamps music, it got her through that time. For someone to say that was pretty awesome and lovely that she felt able to do that.
“It’s really hard to imagine that we’ve been able to do that but it also drives us to carry on. There’s been hard moments in the band but when you hear stuff like that, you’re like ‘My struggles have never been anything like that’ and for us to make them feel better about something so hard is unimaginable but it’s amazing.”
Although each member of The Vamps is busy pursuing solo projects, Connor admits that the group are not going anywhere any time soon. He said: “The Vamps is always a thing that will be going. It’s never ‘We’re splitting up’, and we’ve always said that and as much as people don’t believe it because we’re not doing anything right now, it doesn’t mean that nothing’s happening in the future because there’s definitely stuff coming up!”
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