Mollie Pearce, a finalist from one of television’s most challenging game shows, is gearing up to wow audiences in the forthcoming series of Dancing On Ice. The 22-year-old rose to prominence after finishing second on BBC’s The Traitors, narrowly missing out to Harry Clark who took home the prize money.
However, behind the scenes, Mollie has had a tough upbringing, having been diagnosed with a rare disease at just 11 years old. Born in Nailsea, Somerset, in January 2022, Mollie was born without fingers on her right hand.
Despite this, she led an active childhood, taking part in charity sports events and refusing to let her condition hinder her, according to MyLondon. As an adult, she fondly refers to her ‘nug’ on her right arm.
In 2014, she swam a mile for the charity Reach, which aids children with upper limb difficulties. At the tender age of 11, Mollie was diagnosed with the difficult autoimmune disease ulcerative colitis, which causes inflammation and ulcers in the large intestine – a condition that her father also struggles with.
By the age of 18, she underwent surgery to remove her colon and began life with a stoma, reports the Express.
Mollie candidly discussed her challenging health issues, labelling the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis as an especially tough hit. Determined to leverage her time on The Traitors to improve visibility for people with stomas, she said to the BBC: “I think we now live in a society where having a stoma bag is becoming a bit more normal, external and people are starting to talk about it.”
In addition to this, Mollie mentioned, “But generally speaking, I think poo has always been an embarrassing and taboo thing for people.”
On the popular reality TV series The Traitors, Mollie was a standout, chosen from auditions to be one of the 12 participants in the second series as a faithful contestant.
She made a huge impression by clinching the runner-up position, just missing the grand prize of £95,150 to ‘traitor’ Harry, aged 22, due to an alliance miscalculation. Her journey on the show also sparked rumours of a romance with Max Backwell, though their relationship did not last.
While Mollie’s interaction with fellow contestant Harry caused fan speculation of a potential spark, this notion was quickly quelled. Nonetheless, Mollie was firm in her purpose for joining the show, focusing on dispelling the stigma surrounding stomas.
She reflected on her experience, saying that bringing awareness was “was honestly the best thing that’s come from the show”.
She additionally said: “I’ve always tried to do that anyway. Something like this really, really gives you a voice and gives you that platform. That’s my main goal at the moment, especially around stomas because I feel like there’s such a taboo about that.”
Since her appearance on The Traitors, Mollie has kept up a prominent online profile, attracting over 100,000 Instagram followers. In March, she made a self-cameo with Harry Clark in a Comic Relief spoof of The Traitors that starred Suranne Jones, David Walliams, Catherine Tate, Jonathan Bailey, Asim Chaudhry, Iain Stirling and Sally Phillips.
Her engagements also extended to joining a Superdrug beauty campaign to support raising funds for Marie Curie nursing service hours.
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