Ice champion Hayley dreamed of skating with Daniel

Hayley Tamaddon says she'd longed to skate with Dancing On Ice partner Daniel Whiston since childhood - and she wants the partnership to continue.

Hayley, who skated to victory on the finale of the ITV1 show on Sunday night, has been friends with him for two decades and said performing together was beyond her expectations.

She said she was still coming to terms with her win: "It's a very surreal moment right now."

The 33-year-old former Emmerdale star has longed to pull her skates on alongside Daniel since she was young.

"I've watched him skate since we were 12 - it was my dream as a child to skate with him," she said.

Hayley, whose successful recreation of Torvill and Dean's Olympic-winning Bolero routine wowed the judges, even auditioned for a role to star in a show with Daniel.

"I auditioned for the part, but I wasn't good enough so I didn't get it. I remember being so upset at the time because that was my one chance to be on the ice with Daniel.

"Who would have thought 20 years down the line I would be actually skating with him? That is my dream - and it's basically come true."

She had feared that having a close pal as her mentor, could have cost their friendship.

"The fact that we were friends could have gone either way - it could actually have been a disaster, but in actual fact, it was better than we ever expected it to be."