By Fans were first introduced to the American star when he skated onto our screens in 2020 on series 12 of ITV’s popular celebrity skating show Dancing On Ice.
Since then, we’ve seen him dazzle on the ice with ITV news presenter Lucrezia Millarini and most recently alongside S Club 7 star Rachel Stevens.
Despite the boot with the popstar, Brendyn, 36, is set to return to our screens in the series’ first male couple with Brendan Cole while partner Vanessa Bauer quarantines, leaving elated fans excited to see more the talented dancer.
As he laces up his skates again, let’s take a look at his incredible career and off-screen romance.
Youth
The American-born skater grew up in a small town called Renton, Washington and discovered a passion for skating at an early age.
Despite a shortage of rinks in the suburban town, Brendyn got the support of his loving grandparents who funded his dreams and enrolled him in a learn-to-skate program at the age of six.
“At the time, there were few ice rinks,” Hatfield told The Sun/
“My grandparents were living in Marysville then. They were the ones who got me into skating,” Brendyn said.
He pursued his craft for six years before enrolling in a home school program that would allow him to compete in major ice skating competitions.
“At 12 I got serious,” Hatfield told the Herald Nett.
“I did homeschooling and then Running Start so I had time to compete.”
Now 36, he started skating locally and later competed regionally.
At the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Hatfield studied media management and began skating in pair competitions.
After college he went on several European tours before landing the coveted role of Aladdin with Disney on Ice and later Holiday on Ice.
“Kids idolize Disney characters. You look at the audience and you see these kids shining.
“For them, we are those characters. It’s fun to act as well as do all the technical tricks of skating,” he added. Brendyn had to take a break when he suffered a devastating knee injury.
He needed reconstructive surgery after falling on the ice and considers his nine-month recovery the biggest challenge of his career so far.
At the time, he told aspiring young figure skaters, “Hold on. Skating is a very difficult sport and can be humbling. Practice really makes perfect in figure skating.”
Ice Dance Wedding
Dancing On Ice co-star” content=”https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article26271093.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_Brendyn-Hatfields-life.jpg”/>
(Image: brendynhatfield/Instagram)
Brendyn is married to fellow Dancing on Ice professional Jessica Hatfield, who is a backup dancer for the 2022 series.
The couple met on the road during their time with Disney on Ice and performed together around the world for many years.
Jessica is also an American skater.
Prior to Dancing on Ice, she also starred in Holiday on Ice with her talented husband. For Series 12, she was paired with Radzi Chinyanganya.
The couple have remained in love since they married more than nine years ago.
British breakthrough
(Image: jess_hatfield_skater/Instagram)
We’ve all seen him wow fans across the country with incredible footwork and dazzling jumps on ITV’s Dancing On Ice.
He skated onto our screens in 2020 with his first celebrity partner, ITV presenter Lucrezia Millarini.
Despite a valiant effort, the pair were knocked out in the second round after losing to Kevin Kilbane and Brianne Delcourt in the skate.
Speaking to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about her time on the show, Lucrezia described it as the “weirdest and craziest” experience of her life and praised her “incredible” dance partner Brendyn .
(Picture: ITV)
He quickly moved on to partnering with rapper Lady Leshurr and nearly made it to the finals of the competition.
Despite reaching the semi-finals and earning a perfect score earlier in the show, the pair were kicked out of the show much to the viewers’ dismay.
More recently, fans saw Brendyn go for the trophy with stunning pop star Rachel Stevens.
Again, Brendyn was unable to qualify for the finals after dropping out in week three after a disappointing performance with his partner.
Viewers don’t have to say goodbye to the star just yet, as ITV will bring the skater back to replace professional skater Vanessa Bauer.
Brendyn will form an all-male partnership with Brendan Cole on this weekend’s Dancing on Ice, after professional partner Vanessa pulled out of the show after testing positive for Covid.
A Dancing on Ice spokesperson said: “Unfortunately Vanessa Bauer is unable to skate this weekend after testing positive for Covid-19. We look forward to Vanessa returning to competition soon.
“Brendan Cole will still perform on this Sunday’s show and will be partnered with professional skater Brendyn Hatfield.”
While Brendan is “absolutely disgusted” to miss out on partnering with Vanessa again, he is thrilled to form an all-male partnership with Brendyn.