Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas on why he's daring to bare all to raise awareness of cancer on The Real Full Monty on Ice…
Best known for playing Warren Fox in Hollyoaks and Jake Stone in EastEnders, actor Jamie Lomas will be taking on the role of a different kind this week as he bravely bares all on The Real Full Monty on Ice.
Diversity's Ashley Banjo will once again be putting a whole host of famous lads and ladies through their paces to learn a daring dance routine to raise awareness of checking for cancers - and he's upped the ante this year by putting the show on ICE!
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While a group of famous ladies - including actress Linda Lusardi, Love Island’s Shaughna Phillips - appear in their own show, also on ITV this week, joining Jamie on ice will be rugby star Gareth Thomas, singer Jake Quickenden, jockey Bob Champion, Love Island’s Chris Hughes and Ashley's Diversity pal Perri Kiely.
All the men involved have been touched by cancer in some way and Jamie in particular is eager to raise awareness of the disease as his father is currently living with prostate cancer.
Here Jamie Lomas, 45, reveals why he's stepping out...
Why did you sign up for this show?
"My dad's got prostate cancer and I know this show is brilliant for encouraging people to go and get checked. Anyone who knows me knows this is completely alien to me - I don't dance, I don't ice skate and then, of course, there's having to take my clothes off, so for me to do this is quite a big deal. But with everything that’s going on with Covid, people are going undiagnosed with cancer, so we need to raise awareness."
With the routine, the 'reveal' and the skating, are you worried you've bitten off more than you can chew?
"Most definitely! All the elements involved are as difficult as each other. When you see the VTs of when I first started skating to now, there is a bit of a difference - I was more like Bambi on Ice! I’ve had a wobble a few times thinking I can’t do this. But then I just had a word with myself and reminded myself I’m doing it for my dad."
How are you feeling about the actual performance?
"Well, it'll always be alright on the night, won't it? It takes a lot of balls - quite literally - for us fellas to get out there and do this but if we can help one person, I’m happy for them to have a laugh at my expense. My brother-in-law [Emmerdale actor] Matthew Wolfenden did the first series and told me it was the best experience ever, so I’ve got him to blame if anything goes wrong!"
Do you think men in particular need reminding to check themselves?
"Men tend to push these things to the back of their mind and think: ‘Oh, I’ll be fine’. I check myself in the shower, I always have, it’s now just become a routine for me. But it’s not easy talking about cancer and I know it was tough for a few of the guys on this show. When people hear the word cancer they think that’s it, it’s over. But the recovery rate now is so much higher than it used to be and this show highlights that, if caught early enough, people have a real fighting chance."
The Real Full Monty on Ice, featuring Jamie Lomas, starts on Monday December 14, continuing on Tuesday December 15 at 9pm on ITV.
