ASHLEY Ortega is a cut out for her role in GMA Network’s ongoing prime time drama, “Hearts on Ice.” A professional figure skater before she heeded the call of the entertainment industry, her first lead role could not be more apt. However, it is a different story for her leading man Xian Lim.

Though a natural sports buff, the actor has never tried ice skating until he started preparing for his role.

In August 2022, Lim excitedly announced the start of his training for the show. Four months later, he shared that he passed his Pre Alpha-Delta skating proficiency test.

This impressive improvement got the approval of Ortega.

“The first time I saw him on the skating rink, he would really stumble but he has improved a lot since then—he can now glad, do crossovers and even lift me up when we have a routine together,” the proud co-star shared in a media conference.

“He learned how to skate for the show but he fell in love with the sport and it translated to his performance. I’m also proud of him for doing all of his scenes, he has no double in the show,” Ortega added.

“Hearts on Ice” follows the story of Ponggay (Ortega) who, despite her leg impairment, aspires to fulfill her mother’s broken dreams of becoming a figure skating champion.

Later on, Ponggay discovers an online content creator whose music brings out the best of her capabilities. As she begins to pursue her passion with the right music, Ponggay meets the snobbishly attractive Enzo (Lim) who appears to be her anonymous online idol and the one who will soon make her fall in love.

Since it’s their first show together, Ortega admitted that she and Lim had to work on their chemistry through workshops to play convincing love interests onscreen.

“The skating rink became our ‘training ground’ not only for skating but for our acting

as well. The environment is very different when we’re on the rink — we are more casual and more comfortable with each other, it’s as if we’re not actors because we stumble, we get sweaty, really unglamorous, but it helped us overcome the awkwardness so that when we’re already shooting our scenes, I am no longer intimidated with him,” Ortega explained.

On top of showing an inspirational tale and a love story, Ortega said she is proud to be part of the country’s first-ever figure skating drama on primetime television because it also showcases the beauty and the challenges of the sport.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be part of the first show of its kind. Until now, I still could’t believe it. In the skating community, we are also very lucky to be given this acknowledgement for what we do.

“The show really presents the struggles of the skaters, like how amazing yet difficult our sport is, and how it can change a person’s life. ‘Hearts on Ice’ also showcase the lives of the coaches and even the workers of the skating rink, so it really covers our sport.”

At the end of the day, Ortega hopes that Hearts on Ice will result in greater appreciation for the sport.

“When we, figure skaters, perform, we want to inspire and maybe encourage our audience to try the sport as well. I hope that with this show, we can do the same for our viewers and they’ll appreciate and recognize that sport that exists in the Philippines,” Ortega ended.

Directed by Dominic Zapata, Hearts on Ice airs weeknights at 8:50 p.m. on GMA and at 11:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and at 11 p.m. every Friday on GTV.