Stefan Booth Online

No Limits

As Stefan Booth glides across the ice, leaping and spinning gracefully, you would think that he’d been skating all his life. But in skating, as in life, it’s hard work and determination that have got him where he is today.

When we caught up with Stefan, he had just finished an exhausting UK tour with the Dancing on Ice team. ‘It’s been a crazy six months,’ he says. ‘When you’re skating in front of audiences of up to 10-11,000 people a show, the noise of cheering is unbelievable – it’s like oxygen.’ Twenty-seven-year-old Stefan’s TV credits include playing Hollyoaks love rat Jamie Nash and Sgt Marc Rollins in The Bill.

He was something of a novice when he took part in the first series of ITV’s Dancing on Ice. ‘I’d been skating a few times when I was younger,’ he says. ‘I’d chase my mates around, trip up, land in the boards and go home cut and bruised.’ Despite this unpromising introduction to skating, Stefan says he thoroughly enjoyed the Dancing on Ice experience and finds it hard to believe that he now has a whole range of stunning moves in his repertoire. ‘It has been one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had.

It has been incredible to be taught by Torvill and Dean. When it comes to skating, they’re the best.’ When asked to describe himself in three words, Stefan says ‘I never sleep’ and, if his career is anything to go by, it’s easy to believe. Acting may be his first love, but Stefan was also in a semi-professional jazz band when he left school. He’s the first to admit he likes a challenge – a characteristic he believes has helped to shape his career. ‘As a kid I was really badly bullied. I know how evil kids can be to each other,’ he says. ‘I made it my priority to try and make the best of myself. If I couldn’t do something that would be fine, but I’d definitely give it a go.’ He’s also a firm believer in confidence over physical appearance. ‘Some people might not look attractive when you first meet them, but they become incredibly beautiful when you’ve spent time talking to them because they exude that certain something. To me, that’s confidence.’ Stefan attributes his positive outlook on life to his mum, Mish, who has polycystic kidney disease and arthritis. ‘She’s been a really good role model.

Watching how my mum strived to do everything when I was younger has shown me that you have to go for stuff.’ Although he admits there have been tough times, Stefan thinks his mum’s condition has had a positive impact on his relationship with her. ‘Illness in the family is incredibly traumatic, but I think it can bring people closer together. If it’s channelled in the right way it can be bonding and that’s what happened with me and my mum.’ Arthritis is a subject that’s close to Stefan’s heart and he’s aware that many people don’t understand how much it can affect people’s lives. ‘Arthritis is a really hard thing to publicise because, unless someone’s got a point of contact, a friend or relative who has got it, they don’t know how hard it is.’ As anyone who has watched Dancing on Ice will know, the routines involved are physically demanding.

Because of his mother’s condition, Stefan makes sure he looks after his health. ‘All that skating has definitely taken its toll on my body,’ he says. ‘I’m starting to feel a bit creaky and I’m very conscious that I might get arthritis when I’m older, so I do look after myself. I eat organic food, I take omega oils and I try not to do anything heavy impact like running or jumping off high walls.’ For the time being, Stefan has decided to hang up his skates, but he plans to keep practising in his spare time. ‘I’ve done my fair share of skating now, but I want to keep it up as a pastime. I bought my wife [model and actress Debbie Flett] a pair of skates for her birthday. There was a look of happiness on her face, and then fear as she realised she’d actually have to get on the ice,’ he laughs.

Even men who never sleep need a holiday and for the next couple of weeks, Stefan’s plan is to take some time out and catch up with friends and family. So what does the future hold for Mr Booth? Stefan says he’d like to do more film work and might even take a shot at Hollywood. His film roles so far include a brief appearance in Bridget Jones’s Diary and a more substantial role in the British-made comedy Back in Business, which was released earlier this year. ‘I play a computer wizard,’ he says. ‘He’s an absolute whiz on computers and gets pulled in to hack into the mainframe of the British space agency.’

Stefan Booth already has an impressive body of work behind him, but you get the impression he won’t sit still for long. ‘I feel as though I’m just at the beginning of my career,’ he says. ‘There’s so much more that I want to achieve and I think that’s because of my attitude. If you’ve got a goal and you know where you’re going, there’s nothing stopping you being the most confident person ever.’