Against All Odds Ice Stars

Previously on Ice Stars...

Last season Josh finished with a lower ranking than he'd hoped for.

I think I just feel disappointed because I just wasn't concentrating.

..and best friend Kloe also fell short

of getting into the top ten -

but they pledged to support each other...

-Aww!

-Oh, thank you!

..in their fight for the Olympic dream.

Me and Josh really, really want to go to the Olympics together.

Since Emily left the Icicles...

..five girls have been fighting for the spot...

I'd really like to make it into the team,

but I know that a lot of other people

will be doing the same thing.

..and, after a midnight trial,

Charlie beat 50 other hopefuls to make it onto the Conference team.

For me to get selected is my dream.

Charlie.

Coming up...

it's the British Championships...

Just rest.

..but Josh is struck down by an illness.

It's a really important competition.

I don't, ideally, want to be sat in bed all day.

There's a shock in store for Ella when Adriano returns from Italy...

He's been cheating on you, Ella.

..and Charlie gets an offer he can't refuse.

Makes me feel sick, nervous and...

scared!

It's decision day at the Ice Centre.

Five young synchro skaters

are desperate to find out who's made the cut as a fully fledged Icicle.

Today, we're finding out who's in the team

ready for our first competition.

It's a really hard decision for me as a coach,

because all the five girls

that are fighting for this one place are really working hard,

they're turning up to all the sessions,

they're doing everything they can to really make the team,

so now it is really going on who is the strongest skater.

Making it as an Icicle is something most skaters can only dream of.

Esther still hasn't decided, like,

who's in the team, so she likes to swap us in and out with people -

so, decide who was working best with the team.

It can be quite tricky sometimes,

cos you've got to pick up the steps

and try and fit in, like, suddenly.

Amy and Sam remember clearly what it was like when they had their trial.

When I first joined the Icicles,

it was terrifying,

and I had to fight with two other girls to get one spot.

I remember when I was trying to get into the team

and you just had to show that you were the best

to get the spot.

It is really hard, because you've got so much competition.

Esther's asked coach Lauren to help make this crucial decision.

So, we need to decide out of these five

who's going to skate in the short and long programme.

This one, she's improved so much

but she just needs that little bit more work, doesn't she?

She's got great performance.

-This one...

-Very scared.

-Yeah.

100% dedication, just not quite up to scratch.

-I agree.

-And then this one.

I would say she's the one that's improved in a short space of time.

Definitely. Yeah, but she still needs that more time.

-We just...

-We just don't have time!

-Yeah.

I'm going to find it really hard just picking one out of them.

-I think we're going to have to pick two.

-Yeah, one for each programme.

I agree.

So, it looks like not one but two lucky skaters are going through.

Esther now has the painful job of telling the other hopefuls

they are staying on the bench.

Tucked up in bed, figure skater Josh is fighting a fever.

HE COUGHS

Not good, as he's going for gold at the British Championships

in just a few days.

The last few days I've been rather ill.

I've not been training or going to school or anything.

I've just been laying here all day.

-Hey, matey.

-Hey.

-How are you doing?

-Not good.

Do you want me to get a hot drink?

-Yes, please.

-Something to make you feel better?

-Yes, please.

-Because you need to get back on the rink soon, yes?

-Yeah.

-OK, cool, leave it to me.

Josh first won the British champion title when he was 14.

Now he's 16, he's up against tough competition

and needs to earn the title all over again.

To me, it's a really important competition.

I don't, ideally, want to be sat in bed all day doing nothing.

I need to be at the rink and training the programmes

and running through everything.

Best friend Kloe is also an ex-British champion,

and the two of them have grown up on the ice.

Me and Josh really, really want to go to the Olympics together.

We always planned it,

and it would be the best thing.

They normally train together every day,

but she hasn't seen him all week.

-There you go, matey.

-Thank you.

With only days to go until the British Championships,

the honey and lemon will need to work some serious magic.

It's early morning at the Ice Centre...

..and time for Esther to break the news

of who has and who hasn't made it onto the team.

OK, well done, girls, for all your hard work.

Now we have two weeks left of the competition,

so I would like to finalise the team.

It's been a really hard decision for me and Lauren to make.

Esther started calling out all the team and saying who got in.

We're going to have Alex skate the short programme.

THEY CLAP

So, well done, Alex.

And Olivia, you're going to skate the free programme.

THEY CLAP

I was so happy to get into the team,

and I felt quite proud that I've managed to get in.

You four, I'm really proud of you, and you're going to keep going,

and I'm sure next year you will definitely make the team.

And keep up that hard work, yeah?

THEY CLAP

I don't really think we were too disappointed,

cos it's our first season -

and we haven't been skating as long as a lot of the people in the team.

I would've liked to have got in,

but then, I was quite happy for Olivia and Alex for getting in.

It's nice that me and Alex both get to skate,

not just one of us in both of the programmes,

we've got to skate in one each.

Well done, Alex and Olivia, you can now call yourself Icicles!

Someone else who's desperate to get on the ice is Adriano.

Adriano arrived in Nottingham last season

when his whole family moved from Italy

so he could find a dance partner.

After trying out with Kloe and then Ella...

It's a difficult choice for me.

..and after an agonising wait...

I decide to skate with Ella.

They went on to perform a show-stopping performance

at the gala before Adriano went home to Italy for summer.

Now he's back.

But this time his brothers wouldn't come with him,

so he's just here with his mum.

I said goodbye yesterday to my dad...

-Ciao.

-Ciao.

'..to my brothers.'

-Ciao, Maurizio.

-See you again.

-Ciao, Victor.

'As well, to my dogs.'

Ciao!

It was a little strange without my brothers,

because the house was empty.

I think it will be better if they came back -

but that wasn't the plan.

Adriano may be missing his brothers, but over the summer,

there someone who's been missing him almost as much.

When Adriano was away,

I had to skate on my own,

because there were no boys that were skating

at Nottingham.

I did get a bit bored sometimes, and didn't put as much effort in.

I haven't skated with Ella for six weeks.

I do know that we have to up our game a bit more,

because all the other couples that we are competing against

have had the whole summer to keep working.

There is not long to wait now

until Ella and Adriano will be together again -

but, after six weeks apart, Ella is in for a big surprise.

Josh's whole family have moved cities so he could be near the rink

and practise every day.

His dream is to win an Olympic gold medal...

..but while Kloe and the figure team

have been training hard at the rink...

Josh has been ill in bed.

I had to drag myself out of bed this morning to come here

because I kind of wanted to stay in bed again!

I just don't want to let this cold get the better of me.

HE COUGHS

If he has any chance of winning the British Championships,

Josh needs to be on top of his game.

I only ran three laps and I feel like I'm dying already.

I've never actually been ill that close to a competition before,

or if I have, it's been injury rather than illness.

It's quite scary in the fact that I wasn't sure

if I was going to be able to finish with...

actually still breathing, kind of things!

Don't you hate it when you have a comp coming up

and then you're ill and you still have to come in?

-Yeah.

-Ugh!

It's like, me and Josh, it's like challenging ourselves.

But it looks like today is going to be more of a challenge than most...

and coach Gurgen is clearly worried.

Some crossovers maybe.

Not too long. Just one time forwards, rest a bit,

one time back, rest a bit. Just your style, your way.

-One circle?

-Yeah.

We're not doing any jumps today,

we're just skating.

He's still not 100%.

He's still ill.

Coach Gurgen is not the only one concerned about Josh's fitness.

Still not feeling good now also, yeah?

OK, just rest.

My dad doesn't normally come to watch,

so, when he came to watch the training session,

I think he was a bit worried, as well.

He knew how much this meant to me and to win a national title.

He's obviously not his normal self. He's tired.

We went from the doctors last night to the physios,

and the physio knew straightaway that he'd spent two days in bed

and then said, "Josh, you can't lie in bed. You have to skate."

Can we go home so I can have a bath?

Home for a bath. OK, let's go.

The British Championships are only days away,

and if Josh has any hope of doing his very best,

he needs to be 100% fit.

Morning! Are you all right?

It's breakfast time at Charlie's house...

Very professional.

..and eggs are on the menu.

Mm!

That smells amazing.

It does.

So, what are your favourite eggs, Charlie?

Scrambled, omelettes, fried,

-poached...

-Boiled!

-..boiled.

-Just about eggs, isn't it?

-Yeah.

It's all about the eggs.

But today is no ordinary day for ice hockey mad Charlie.

Even though it's not a school day,

his mum has told him he needs to be there to meet his friend Ashley.

All I know is I'm going to school

and there's going to be quite a lot of surprises.

I'm pretty nervous, because...

I don't know what's going on.

With a good breakfast in his belly,

Charlie heads off to ask his teacher, Mr Williams,

what all the fuss is about.

Morning, Charlie!

-Morning.

-I've got a bit of a surprise for you today.

OK, how about we watch our pro ice hockey team train on the ice?

-Yeah.

-Brilliant!

Come on, then. Let's go.

As a school, we recognise how well Charlie is doing

with his skating here and also how well Ashley has done

since he got his scholarship at the Ice Centre.

But what Mr Williams hasn't told Charlie and Ashley

is that there's another surprise in store for them.

We've come down to see my favourite hockey team train,

which is very amazing, because it's only like a one-in-a-lifetime thing.

A training session with his heroes -

but what Charlie doesn't know is that this is just the beginning.

# I think I'm onto something

# Cos I feel the good times coming... #

Go, go, go!

He got some good saves.

Yes.

Oh! What a shot.

I'd love to be in this team when I grow up.

Hey, guys. Good to have you here, Ashley.

I hear you guys are big hockey fans.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-How is this season going so far?

-Good.

-I hear it's going really well.

-Yeah.

Well, we have a big game coming up, so we wanted you to be the mascot.

-OK.

-Yeah? Will you do it?

-Yeah.

We'll be honoured if you do it.

-We know you're a big fan.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

That's great.

-Sounds good, guys. See you Saturday.

-Big game, Saturday.

-See you later.

-See ya.

They've asked me to be their mascot.

It's really exciting because I've never actually been a mascot.

I'm still nervous,

because you're skating in front of thousands of people.

A mascot for the Panthers -

one of the biggest ice hockey teams in the country.

Go on, Charlie!

After a summer apart, it's time for Ella and Adriano to be reunited.

Hi!

Hi.

-How was summer?

-Good, thank you.

-How was yours?

-Fine.

I'm not really sure how this session is going to go,

because, obviously, we haven't skated in quite a long time.

Very happy to be here?

-Yeah!

-Good to be back?

-Yeah.

-Do you remember your programme?

-A little.

-I knew.

I knew you'd forget.

Coach Sophie doesn't waste any time putting them through their paces.

Heads up.

Stand on the same leg!

Heads up. Don't look down.

Sometimes you can be off two, three days unwell

and you come back it's a bit of a wobbly feeling

so they've really got to get back to the grind and work hard now

to make sure they're going to be back up to the same standard

that they were.

The first session back on the ice with Adriano,

it was a bit weird, but we just had to get on with it

and forget that he'd been away for so long.

The couple may look like they're getting used to each other again,

but Sophie has spotted something the judges aren't going to like -

and it's something no-one was expecting.

-Have you grown?

-No.

I think you have!

We want Ella to grow!

You need to stop.

You've got to make Ella skate up to you.

Don't skate down to her,

so make sure you have your head up and look over the top over her head

rather than down on the top of her head,

and let her look up to you.

I was quite concerned coming back

he was going to be quite a bit taller than Ella.

It just means he'll have to bend a lot more

to keep the height difference better.

I was worried that I would forget everything,

and I didn't forget everything, but I did forget a few things.

Nice to have him back, Ella?

She's missed you.

Who have you been skating with while you've been away, then?

-Three girls.

-Three girls?

-Yeah.

He's been cheating on you, Ella.

This step sequence, I forgot some steps, so...

We did have to do it over and over again,

but he has been away for quite a long time, so...

I forgive him!

He's not allowed to grow any further!

As night sets in,

the Ice Centre is flooded with thousands of fans

who have come to see the game...

with a very special team mascot.

I'm feeling really nervous,

because I've never been this team's mascot before.

You have to lead them on as they come onto the ice.

Yeah, it's something all of my friends want to do.

It's really a dream come true.

The team may be used to psyching themselves up before a match,

but Charlie thinks they could do

with some of his own unique management tips.

-What have we got to do today?

-Hammer 'em.

-Hammer 'em?

-Kill 'em.

-Kill 'em.

Destroy them.

All right, I like it.

-You all right?

-Yeah.

-All right?

-You need a new box.

-Huh?

-You need a new box.

-I need a new box?

-Yeah.

Oh - this is brand-new.

It's ripped.

I can tell that's not brand-new!

See you out there.

The team's latest adviser

seems to be taking his new role in his stride...

Oh, my!

..or not.

Makes me feel sick.

Makes me feel sick, nervous and

scared!

CROWD CHANTS

As a mascot, Charlie has to lead the team onto the ice

and drop the puck before the game starts.

Now for our ceremonial puck drop

with our mascot, ten-year-old Charlie.

I really enjoyed it.

I was really proud of myself that I was leading all my favourite players

from that team onto the ice.

I wish that I could be a professional ice hockey player.

I'm going to train as hard as I can.

I don't know how, but they let me keep the puck!

It's the British Championships,

the biggest competition of Josh's life so far...

The British is one of the most important competitions of the year.

..but Josh has been struck down by an illness,

and has struggled in training.

I only ran three laps, and I feel like I'm dying already.

I feel like I've recovered well,

and I'll be able to put out a good programme today,

as long as I concentrate and do my best.

Josh has put nine years of his life into this,

so, you know, if you add it all up,

he's probably done 7,500 hours of training.

It's his life.

Winning competitions and winning the National is everything to him.

Josh isn't the only skater hoping to come top today.

He's up against some stiff competition.

I definitely value Josh as a very good competitor.

He keeps me motivated throughout the year.

We get along, we talk.

I get along with all my competitors.

It's just when I get out there, I'm like, "I want to beat them."

I've known Hugh for quite a while now.

He didn't originally compete in Britain.

He lives and trains in Canada.

I remembered the first year he came over to compete,

and it was kind of like, "Oh, who is this person from Canada?"

We didn't really know who he was.

And today wouldn't be complete without BFF Kloe,

here to cheer him on.

I've known Kloe for so long now, since she moved from Hungary.

It's really exciting to be here to watch him.

He's kind of like in the zone, and concentrating on himself.

Josh will have to focus as he needs to beat his old rival, Hugh,

and that is not going to be easy.

'Next to skate, from Nottingham, Josh Brown.'

CROWD CHEERS

In my category, having eight jumps, and six of mine are triples,

there's a lot of things that can go wrong in that.

Confidence, please. OK?

Don't hesitate. From the first to the end, just go.

I can see myself getting more nervous for him at the minute

than I do for myself.

MUSIC: Coming Home by Sigma

As soon as I landed the first triple,

I was like, "OK, relax a bit now."

And then when I fell on the second one, it was like a wake-up call.

I was like, "You've got to get yourself into position now, Josh."

You can't let any more mistakes happen.

And I did the next jump and the land on it wasn't great

and I was kind of in the spin and I was thinking to myself in the spin,

you don't want to let this go.

I was just, like, really concentrating.

Josh, come on, don't let this slip from you.

You haven't got this opportunity again.

APPLAUSE

-Whoo!

-Whoo!

Josh fell once, but he recovered well and landed five triples,

so he scored an amazing 150 points.

He's in first position.

But Hugh has yet to skate.

Hugh was directly after me.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch or not.

It was kind of like that rivalry.

Hugh is all that stands between Josh and the British Championship title,

and Josh can't bear to watch.

It's over.

He might not have fallen,

but his jumps haven't been as hard to land as Josh's.

It's an agonising wait for both skaters until the scores come in.

'Total score of 137.02.

'Hugh is in second place.'

Josh has done it. He's British Champion!

Doesn't really feel like it's happened.

Have to wait to let it sink in a bit!

I'm not going to cry, I'm fine!

Do you want to ask a question before I start crying?!

It just kind of feels surreal

when you find out that you've finally won.

It was just quality, yeah?

And no-one is more pleased than best friend Kloe.

We all see how hard everyone works,

so it's just the best thing to see them do well.

'And in first place, from the National Ice Centre, Nottingham.

'Josh Brown.'

As of this competition,

I'm now able to say I am the Junior National Champion

which I didn't think I would be able to say,

but it hasn't really sunk in yet.

I'm really happy with how today ended up,

so, it's been a good day.

It's been an amazing day.

I was so proud of him,

and I'm really happy that he gets to go to Junior Worlds.

Perfect.

The 7,500 hours of training has been worth it.

British Champion.

Next stop, the Worlds.

I'm very proud.

Very, very proud.

-ALL:

-Whoo!

Next time on Ice Stars...

You're going to skate across the ice now.

This time, try and pass to each other.

Destiny goes up against the boys...

The only thing I'd be worried about is if I was to go in goal.

They'd be whacking pucks at my face.

..Kloe struggles to come back after a knock to her confidence...

I've never seen her come back from a competition so devastated.

..and Ella realises that her time with Adriano

could be coming to an end.

I can't have it in my head that he's going to leave,

because that will just put me down.