Dancing On Ice’s Ryan Thomas admits the show has pushed his body to the limit as he prepares for the final: ‘It’s not far from reaching a plateau’

Ryan Thomas has said he hopes the Dancing On Ice final means his body can finally recover from intensive training during the series.

The former Coronation Street actor, 39, who played Jason Grimshaw for 16 years, will battle it out on Sunday night to lift the winning trophy.

She will skate alongside fellow finalists Adele Roberts, Greg Rutherford and Miles Nazaire.

The actor, whose professional skateboarding partner is Amani Fancy, said Mirror that being almost 40 years old meant his body didn’t “recover as easily.”

He said: “They work you hard and it’s the last week and there’s a lot to deal with.” And the body is not far from stopping. I mean, it takes a toll on the body more than anything else.

Ryan, whose brothers are Strictly Come Dancing star Adam Thomas and former Love Island contestant Scott Thomas, added that his focus was on returning to his family.

She continued, “I think that’s the only reason I can get through this because I know in the end I have my beautiful family to go back to.”

“I live for that, doing the normal thing every day, taking the kids to school, going to the park, the things I used to take for granted, I’m going to embrace them with all my might.”

Ryan shares daughter Scarlett, 15, with his ex and former Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien, and two sons with fiancée Lucy Mecklenburgh, who found fame on TOWIE.

With the end in sight, Ryan said skating has become “more and more difficult.”

This was certainly true at last Sunday’s show, where celebrities pushed their skating skills to the limit while performing twice, and in one dance they were forced to master cable work.

Ryan’s hard work paid off when he and his dance partner earned their highest score of the series with an impressive 38 points.

The judges were full of praise as they praised the soap star for her “storytelling” and acting skills.

Motsi Mabuse called the skate “joyful” and said it helped viewers forget the difficult things happening in their lives.

At this Sunday’s performance, Ryan will skate a Game of Thrones-themed routine that he describes as a “real spectacle.”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of when judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won Olympic gold.

The celebrities will perform a routine, inspired by the skating duos’ performance to Ravel’s Bolero in Sarajevo at the 1984 Winter Games, at the weekend.

The Dancing On Ice final is on Sunday at 6.25pm.