Dancing On Ice’s Amy Tinkler reveals show has boosted her body confidence

Gymnast Amy Tinkler has revealed that her new stint on Dancing On Ice has helped restore her body confidence, after years of being made to feel ‘fat’ in her sport.

The Olympic bronze medallist, 21, has stepped in as an 11th hour replacement for Denise Van Outen, who was forced to quit the show after dislocating her shoulder.

And while other celebrities have publicly expressed their fears about taking to the ice for the ITV show, Amy says it’s a welcome change from the pressures of the gym. 

She told The Mirror of her ongoing body-image issues: ‘I am getting help for that and doing this show has helped me put all that to one side and be happy again.

‘There is no pressure about my weight in this show, no pressure if I don’t get through a routine. We are wearing tight clothes but I’m happy with that.’

Insisting she’s ‘not nervous’ about her Sunday debut on the show, Amy also revealed that competing on the show makes her feel included after years of missing out. 

She explained: ‘In gym I was never allowed to do any other sport in case I was injured. All my friends would go to ice rinks for fun at weekends but I was never allowed to do that… [N]ow I want to go and compete – but have fun.’

Amy, who won a bronze gymnastics medal at the Rio Olympics when she was 16, sensationally retired from the sport early last year aged just 20.

In October, she opened up Sportsmail about her experiences with British Gymnastics, sharing allegations of fat-shaming and relentless bullying.

The medal wasn’t worth it,’ she said at the time. ‘I would give up my whole Olympic experience to have never gone through this, and for any other gymnast to not. Nothing is worth what I have been through and what I am still dealing with.’

She then spoke candidly about Amanda Reddin, a coach of major renown who was appointed to the lead female role at British Gymnastics in 2012.

‘I was terrified of her,’ Amy said. ‘She has a presence and nothing’s good enough for her. The weight stuff started from her when I about 13. She was obsessed.

‘I would be in Lilleshall for maybe four days a month by then, and towards the end, from 2017 onwards, I was there a lot more, and the whole time weight was almost a daily thing with her.

‘I would suck my tummy any time I saw her. If you lost weight, she wanted you to lose more. I get that we need to monitor our weight, and there was the odd time where I’d sit down (with the nutritionist) and could do with losing a little bit, but with Amanda, it would be said even if everyone else was happy with my weight.

‘I remember when I was 15, before the worlds, the cleaners found sweet wrappers in our rooms, and she (Reddin) sat seven or eight of us down in the gym.

Another international coach (Colin Still) was there and she (Reddin) went psycho. She was saying, “You girls have similar bodies to the Americans but they look muscly and you guys just look fat”.

‘She said to us, “If you’re going to eat sweets, make sure you eat them in front of your teammates so they know you’re the one to blame when we don’t do well”. All girls are different shapes and sizes but they had an idea of how you should look.

‘We would be weighed at the start of every camp at Lilleshall and eventually I wouldn’t eat the night before. From 14 to 19 I drank lemon juice before bed every night because I read that the acid burns fat in your stomach while you sleep.

‘Before weigh-ins, I wouldn’t eat lunch or dinner the day before. That was the environment.’

Reddin, who has vehemently denied allegations of any wrongdoing, told Sportsmail last year: ‘In August, I agreed with British Gymnastics to temporarily step aside from my role to allow an investigation to proceed into claims about my conduct.

‘The investigation is being completed by an external independent expert. I am keen for this to conclude and will be fully supportive by submitting all relevant information and evidence I have in response to these allegations.’

Colin Still said: ‘I feel genuinely devastated if any comments I made have hurt Amy or any other gymnasts. I do not recall or have record of making these comments attributed to me two years ago.

‘An investigation is ongoing which I fully support and will be submitting all relevant information.’ 

Meanwhile, a British Gymnastics statement said: ‘The incidents recounted by Amy are completely unacceptable in our sport.

‘Investigations are already underway into a number of these claims. These allegations, and any additional information Amy wishes to submit, will be provided to the relevant investigations.’

Amy joins Dancing On Ice at a time when the show has been thrown into chaos, with three celebrities dropping out of Sunday’s show.

Rufus Hound, 41, Denise Van Outen, 46, Billie Faiers, 31, will all be absent during the instalment, but producers have reportedly insisted that ‘another elimination will take place this weekend’. 

It’s thought that two of the three absentee stars will return: Rufus Hound, 41, is self-isolating after coming into contact with coronavirus, while Billie Faiers, 31, is taking the week off to grieve the loss of her grandmother Wendy.

Denise, however, who was skating with pro Matt Evers, 44, has permanently pulled out of the show after dislocating her shoulder.

As such, gymnast Amy Tinkler will skate with pro Joe Johnson this Sunday.

It’s also been claimed that producers are ready to call on stand-in Matt Richardson, 29, if anyone else should permanently drop out. 

A source told The Sun: ‘The trio of absences have caused major headaches. Bosses have to fill two hours in prime time. 

‘They thought the biggest hurdle would be getting the programme on air, but they couldn’t have foreseen coronavirus causing a contestant to drop out at the same time that two other stars left due to an injury and a bereavement. 

‘With such a run of bad luck, they’re preparing for every possible outcome. They’re taking nothing for granted.’ 

MailOnline has contacted Dancing On Ice for comment.