Matt Evers has hailed his former Dancing On Ice partner Gemma Collins for “giving bigger girls gym motivation”.
The professional skater, who was paired with Collins on the ITV show earlier this year, said that he credits the reality star with inspiring “bigger” girls to “try new physical activities”.
“Everybody just commends her for doing it because of the lack of physicality and her body type, and anything like that,” Evers said in a recent interview.
“It’s given the bigger girls motivation to get into the gym and try new physical activities. So it's had a positive effect I think worldwide, of people with that body type.”
Evers also revealed that the 38-year-old had “gone viral” in the US after the clip of her falling on the ice during one of her routines was circulated online.
He said: “They commend her, especially in the States. Americans have a different sort of mentality, they don't really know who Gemma Collins is in regards to her character and where she comes from.”
Collins was left shaken and upset after falling flat on her face during a skate to Celine Dion’s It’s All Coming Back To Me during one of the live shows.
The star later revealed the extent of her injuries and said that it had “knocked her confidence” for the following week.
Her time on Dancing on Ice was also headline-worthy for her spat with judge Jason Gardiner, who branded her a “brat” in response to her on-air rant at him for “selling stories”.
Evers is one of a handful of famous faces stripping off on ITV next month as part of The All New Monty to raise awareness for prostrate and testicular cancers.
He said it “took a lot of work” to be “comfortable” taking his clothes off in front of other people, having to find the right “mental space”.
The male All New Monty: Who Bares Wins airs at 9pm on ITV on May 9, with the women’s show airing at the same time on May 10.
Additional reporting by the Press Association.
