'People wrote me off' Chemmy Alcott on how Dancing On Ice saved her skiing career

express.co.uk:

Dancing on Ice saved her skiing career.Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the sportswoman, 39, revealed that she used the opportunity to appear on the show as "self-investment" to get back to a professional level of skiing after suffering injuries in a horror accident.Chemmy starred on the seventh season of Dancing on Ice in 2012 alongside her professional skating partner, the late Sean Rice.One year prior, the sportswoman sustained serious injuries to her leg following a horror crash that shattered her leg.After the collision at 80mph the star feared that she would never walk again let alone get back to the sport she loved.Detailing her injuries as a result of the crash, Chemmy said that she was "written off" by people in the industry.She said: "I'd been dropped by UK Sport beforehand."And not many people believe that I could get back to the sport that I love."And I really was adamant I wanted to ski race again."You know, people wrote me off," she added.However, the star jumped at the chance to star on the ITV ice-skating show as a way of getting back on to the slopes.Chemmy explained: "That gave me a chance to increase my profile, which helped me get sponsors so I could go on the tour and afford to ski again."So, you know, it was all kind of self-investment."The mother-of-two told how she took her time on the show seriously.She said: "That's almost why I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I would now because I had a goal."I needed to get to a point where I could get back to skiing, there was a purpose with it."I wasn't just a celebrity taking time out of life and having a jolly," she explained.Chemmy added that if she were to appear on the show again now she'd probably have more fun."I was quite serious about.