Dancing On Ice winner reveals emotional pep talk that left soap co-star Sam Aston fighting back tears ahead of final

DANCING On Ice winner Hayley Tamaddon has revealed the emotional pep talk she gave to her Coronation Street co-star Sam Aston ahead of this weekend’s series final.

Sam will be hoping to replicate Hayley’s 2010 success with his skate partner Molly Lanaghan when they go head to head with Anton Ferdinand and Michaela Strachan on Sunday night.

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Sam Aston and Molly Lanaghan are going for gold[/caption]

The actress, 48, made the inspiring call to pal Sam after another co-star and Dancing On Ice winner, Ryan Thomas, begged her to repeat the motivational talk she gave to him last year.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun on behalf of Heart Bingo, Hayley explained: “When Ryan was doing the show, I rang him just before the final, because I could see his confidence was dipping.

“And I rang him, and I said, ‘are you all right?’ And he was like, ‘I don’t think I can do it. Am I good enough? Can I do this?’

“I gave him a real kind of parental pep talk, and said, ‘Ryan, you’ve got to believe in yourself. You’ve got this. You’re amazing’.”

Ryan remembered the moment vividly and last week urged Hayley, who played Andrea Beckett on the cobbles for two years, to help their friend out.

She continued: “So last week, Ryan Thomas rings me, and says, ‘can you please ring Sam Aston, and give him the same talk you gave me a year ago?’

“So I did. A week ago, I left Sam a very, very long voice message saying, ‘please believe in you, Sam, because you can do this. You’ve got this.

“‘You are brilliant. You’re a fantastic skater’. And he messaged me saying, ‘I’m all choked up’.

“He said, ‘you’re exactly right. I just need to believe I can do it’. And out he skates, and gets his best score of the series.

“And I think sometimes, just having a friend to kind of go, you’ve got this. We are all supporting you. You can do it, really helps, you know?”

Single mum Hayley, 48, has a big year ahead.

She’s taking her one-woman show on board a cruise ship and, when she’s not at sea, she’ll be focused on bringing her self-penned sitcom to life.

The project, which was first started in 2019, has gone through various iterations and is now in production with hopes that it will be commissioned by a major channel or platform in the near future.

Hayley said: “I’ve worked really hard writing it. And I love writing. You know, it’s a real passion of mine.

“And I think just be happy. Just do what makes you happy. And do what you can to earn the money.

“You know, because that’s it now. You know, being a single parent, it’s just me. Me and my little boy and the help of my mum and dad, which is amazing.

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Ryan Thomas lifted the trophy last year after being inspired by Hayley[/caption]

“I take the work where it comes and I’m truly grateful for every job I get.”

Her sitcom took a major step forward in 2022 after Hayley entered it into a competition.

She was one of four winners out of 1,000 entrants and won the opportunity to have her script read to industry heavyweights Netflix, ITV, BBC, and Channel 4.

An all-female production company then came onboard and offered to help her make it a reality.

Hayley said: “I have rewritten it. So it’s nothing like what it was. It’s almost like starting again.

“But I’ve learned as a writer, this is how it is in this industry. You know, some people write things and they don’t see it on screen for another nine years. I mean, I’ve written myself as the lead.

“And when I started writing it, I was only 43 and I’m 48 now. So I’m hoping I can still play it in another four years from now.”