Dancing on Ice winner Nile Wilson says show 'taught me so much'
Dancing on Ice champion Nile Wilson said the show helped him cope with the "loss of identity" he felt after retiring from gymnastics.
Wilson and and his skating partner Olivia Smart won the ITV1 ice skating contest after a dazzling final performance which saw a string of perfect scores.
The Leeds-born Olympic gymnast, 27, saw off competition from reality star Joey Essex, who came second, and drag queen The Vivienne, who finished in third place.
Speaking to ITV News, Wilson admitted the process had helped him come to terms with a lack of competition since he was forced to quit the sport because of injury in 2021.
He said: "I did and still do feel incredibly lost. When you have that loss of identity, when all your life has been about a sport and being the best in the world, it's difficult to find out who you are – [just] existing and not getting the validation for performing.
"This process has taught me so much about myself, it's scratched an itch. But also I realised I have got so much more to give in this world and I don't need to have the adrenalin rush and be on top of the world."
The three finalists all skated an original routine and performed in a skate battle to whittle it down to the final two.
Wilson and Essex then went head-to-head as they each performed the famous Bolero, which won Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean the gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics, to decide the winner.
Wilson said he felt 'lost' after quitting gymnastics
Smart, who was born in Sheffield and went on to represent Spain at the Olympics, said the show was "the memory of a lifetime".
She said: " It was an unbelievable experience for me. I have learned so much doing this show. I had an unbelievable partner to do this with and he just soaked it up like a sponge and I have made a new friend out of this show."
Wilson, a former Pudsey Grangefield School pupil, said he is now focused on promoting the benefits of gymnastics for young people through social media.
"I didn't think I was a gymnast any more but I still am," he said. "I'm just going to throw myself into that and be the best that I can be."
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