From being swung by the ankles for Dancing On Ice’s infamous ‘headbanger’ to becoming a nationally-recognised advocate for the Disabled community, Nailsea native and reality TV fan favourite Mollie Pearce talks to Isabelle Blakeney about embracing her rapid rise to fame
Mollie Pearce soared to fame in January last year after appearing as a Faithful in the nail-biting finale of season two of BBC’s The Traitors, where she was spectacularly duped out of £95,000 in a scene that had audiences on the edge of their seats. Since then, she’s become a spokesperson for people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, proudly advocating to eradicate the stigma around stoma bags, and has most recently appeared on Season 17 of ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
When we speak, Mollie has just arrived home after a two-month stint filming Dancing on Ice “just outside of London”. If she’s tired, she doesn’t show it – her positivity and warmth that is palpable on screen certainly extends beyond the camera.
The final episode, which aired just two days prior to our chat, saw Coronation Street’s Sam Aston take home the trophy, with all the season’s competitors returning for group dances. What did she think of the finale’s dancers? “They were all amazing, so whatever happened, it would have been good.”
Mollie hails from Nailsea, and before her overnight rise to TV fame she was a healthcare worker in Bristol while also working as a Disability model, with glossy campaigns for Adidas and Kurt Geiger under her belt. In 2022, the producers of The Traitors reached out to her on Instagram asking her to participate on the first season, which she turned down in favour of island-hopping in Greece.
But after watching that season: “I just thought, this is really, really good TV. Like, maybe I shouldn’t pass this one up. So when the opportunity came up again and we started going through the process, it felt like one of those things that’s never going to happen. You keep going through the steps, and then suddenly I was in Scotland filming for it, and it was a bit crazy, actually. Everything was new. The first day being in front of the camera, I just felt so nervous. It was the most bizarre feeling.”
She was up filming in the Scottish Highlands “for about a month – though it feels like longer because you don’t have any contact with friends or family or anything”. The series saw her traverse lochs, crawl through ‘catacombs’, and abseil down cliff faces above the North Sea, with her athletic ability squarely matching that of co-competitors like Harry, an ex-army engineer.
Battling her health
You’d be forgiven, then, for being surprised to learn that only a few years earlier, aged just 18, Mollie was in hospital having her large intestine removed and her small intestine diverted to an opening on her stomach with a stoma bag attached.
After being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis age 11, she spent years plagued by pain and anxiety, to the point where she struggled to leave the house without a wave of dread that she wouldn’t be able to reach a toilet when needed. She struggled with immunosuppressant medication, but nothing seemed to work. As a teen, the idea of a stoma bag just wasn’t something she was willing to accept. But then, after being rushed to hospital and discovering the extent of her disease-ravaged colon, she was left with little choice but to accept the seven-hour operation to remove her large intestine.
I always throw myself into everything – you never know what will come from it
While adjusting to the stoma was difficult at first, once she regained her strength she discovered that it gave her a new lease of life, allowing her to travel and take part in the arduous activities of The Traitors and Dancing on Ice: things that she couldn’t imagine doing before.
Mollie’s life may have thrown her some curveballs over the last few years (she was also born with missing digits on her right hand) but the 23-year-old has the ‘roll with the punches’ attitude to go with it.
“I’ve always thought it’s better to do it than not do it and have regrets. So, I always throw myself into everything – you never know what will come from it. I never thought I’d have been doing Dancing on Ice, that’s for sure.”
The ice queen
Her Dancing On Ice journey saw her become a firm fan favourite, and she glided her way to week seven where she performed the infamous ‘headbanger’ (a move where she was held by the feet and spun around by her partner, Colin, which was “really quite scary!”) to ABBA’s Mamma Mia before exiting the rink.
Reflecting on her experience, she says: “I loved it, to be honest. It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done. I mean, it was definitely quite stressful at times, because the turnaround is so quick to learn a new routine, and it’s difficult because you don’t really have time to get poorly or anything. So as much as it was incredible, it was obviously quite high pressure as well.”
Her Dancing on Ice journey wasn’t a smooth ride, either. In the pre-series training, Mollie fell and fractured her wrist, meaning that she wasn’t able to train for a month.
“I think if I had been able to get straight back on, I would have been alright. But because I had that fall and then I had four weeks off, when I got back on, I was super nervous.”
But from everything she’s done, it’s clear she’s not one to let nerves stop her. So what was the best thing about the experience?
“I learned that I actually really loved the performance side of it. I thought that’s what I was going to struggle with the most, but it seems to be what we had the most compliments on. Really, it was quite fun to just get into character and pretend to be someone else.”
A voice for Disabilities
Her rise to reality TV fame has been a quick one, and with an Instagram filled with chat shows and red carpets, she doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. But for Mollie, there’s more to her platform than most.
“I think [TV has] really helped me kind of grow in confidence, and it’s given me the most amazing platform to spread awareness for limb difference, Crohn’s, colitis and people living with stoma bags, and that has been really incredible.
It’s nice to see people on our TV who have disabilities or are a little bit different
“It’s important that we’re also putting good energy and positive thoughts out there, so that’s been really nice. And I’ve got the stoma community behind me, which is lovely, and I get loads of support from them.”
It’s safe to say that she’s become a national spokesperson for the stoma community. But how does it feel to bear that weight?
“I think we have to remember that everyone’s experience is different, so something I say isn’t always going to be the same for everyone else. But I just think it’s nice to see people on our TV who have disabilities or are a little bit different, because you feel really seen. And I think that’s really, really important, because for me, growing up, that’s always been something that has changed my opinion on my disabilities.”
The importance of representation is personal to Molly, having started her own modelling journey after seeing a model with a limb difference like hers.
“Me and my mum were shopping. We walked into one of the shops, and there was a model with one arm. And I just remember feeling so seen, I suppose, and I thought, ‘I want to give other people that feeling’.”
Okay, quick fire round!
Hype song?
“Definitely Escapism by Raye.”
Celebratory meal?
“We didn’t really eat straight after the show on Dancing on Ice, but we’d always have a pizza when we got back to my flat.”
If you could go on, and win, any reality TV show, what would it be?
“I’d probably have to say I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!”
If you weren’t in reality TV, what would you be doing?
“I’d probably still be in healthcare. I loved it.”
Where are you happiest?
“With my family.”
And who’s your hero?
“I’d have to say my mum, to be honest. She’s amazing.”
What’s next?
“Part of me will always be in Bristol. I do love it here. I love when it’s a really nice summer’s day and you can go into Bristol, sit around the harbour, have a couple drinks. I think it’s just such a nice vibe around there, especially when the sun’s out.”
But for now?
“I think I need a nice holiday after the show, and once I’ve done that I’ll get my work head back on and get planning. But yeah, there’s lots of things I want to do.”
And if your younger self could see you now, after everything you’ve done?
“I think she’d be chuffed!”
Catch up with Mollie’s appearance on The Traitors season two on BBC iPlayer, and tune into ITVX for her Dancing On Ice performances. Keep up with Mollie via her Instagram page @mollie_pearcee
If you’d like to support any organisations dedicated to helping the health conditions mentioned in this article, Mollie recommends Crohn’s & Colitis UK and REACH, both of which have helped her along her own medical journey.
