‘Dancing On Ice’s Mark Hanretty "forgets" that Libby Clegg is blind.
The ice skating professional is partnered with the Paralympian – who has no central vision or perception of depth because of her deteriorating eye condition Stargardt’s Muscular Dystrophy – on the ITV skating show and admits there are times where he leaves her "stranded".
He confessed: "I’ve forgotten at inopportune times where I have left Libby and realised she is in the middle of the ice rink and left her stranded, so that’s not the best. I do forget because she has so many coping mechanisms."
Libby has a special way of making her way around the ice despite her poor vision, by creating "a map in her head" of where everything is.
Explaining how she copes, she added: "I create a map in my head of where boundaries and certain obstacles are, so I just try and memorise all those really small details. I recognise and observe things you wouldn’t really notice on a daily basis in my normal life, so I try to do that on the ice rink as well."
And Mark admitted it has been a "huge challenge" teaching Libby to skate but whilst he initially thought it would be a "nightmare", he now feels like the "luckiest guy" to be partnered with the 29-year-old sprinter.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, Mark said: "It’s been a huge challenge, I came into it with a pre-conceived idea of how difficult it is going to be. Initially I thought this is going to be such a challenge, it’s going to be a nightmare, and now I just think I’ve been the luckiest guy."
Dancing On Ice’s Mark Hanretty ‘forgets’ Libby Clegg is blind
