Ryan Thomas is determined to go far in the new series of ITV's Dancing on Ice. The Coronation Street star is hoping to make it further than his brother Adam on Strictly Come Dancing last year. Adam, who is known for his roles on Emmerdale and Waterloo Road, made it to week seven in the latest series of the BBC dancing show before being voted out.
Chatting with HELLO! and other press ahead of the new series, Ryan spoke about the "brotherly banter" between him, Adam and their brother, Scott, who rose to fame after appearing on Love Island back in 2016.
During Adam's seven weeks on Strictly, Ryan cheered from the sidelines and supported his brother through his journey. "I remember being with my brother all the way through his process on Strictly and it was a daily conversation of support, so he's now having to be my support," said the 38-year-old, who's paired with professional skater Amani Fancy.
"He's going to be there for the first show, with my other brother. It's a family affair, we're all very supportive of each other, but along with that comes some brotherly banter and I have to do better than both my brothers on any show that they do," he said, laughing.
"The object of the game is to beat Adam! As long as I get further than Adam did on Strictly, then I'm happy," joked Adam, who is engaged to TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh.
Despite Adam's determination, his skating partner Amani admitted the pair have "a long journey" ahead of them during an appearance on ITV's This Morning on Tuesday.
Revealing that Adam had suffered a "tough fall" during rehearsals, Amani said: "I mean we've got a long journey ahead of us, we need to make sure that what happened in practice a few weeks ago doesn't happen in the live shows - which was quite a tough fall.
"But it's not easy, they've got to lift us, they've got a life in their hands."
Praising her co-star's hard work, she said: "He's got good self-awareness but he's an interesting student and he works harder than anyone else I know. He'll go to his paddle competitions, go to PT, be with his kids and go to skating."
Ryan's position in this year's line-up was announced back in October, after which Amani took to Instagram to express her delight.
"I’ve honestly been hoping for this pairing since the @dancingonice line up came out after watching an interview Ryan was on, to the point where I've nagged production to tell me if it was him countless times but had no luck until today."
The 26-year-old added: "I'm so proud to be your partner and cannot wait to see you thrive and become the skater I know you can be. Who knows, maybe we won't be able to tell who the professional is by the end of the competition."