Maria Filippov (born 20 June 1973 as Maria Hadjiiska) () is a Bulgarian professional

ice skater Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be perfo ...

and former competitor.

Career

As Maria Hadjiiska, she was a member of the Bulgarian national

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

team from 1988 to 1992 and her country's national ice dance champion in 1990–1991. She represented

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

with her partner Hristo Nikolov at the 1991 European Championships from which they withdrew, and the 1991 World Championships, where they were unable to reach the final. Filippov coaches at Dundonald International Ice Bowl, Northern Ireland (2017–2023).

''Dancing on Ice''

Series two

In 2007 Filippov appeared on the British

television programme A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'' as the partner of singer

Duncan James Duncan Matthew James Inglis (born 7 April 1978) is an English singer, actor and television presenter. He became widely known in 2001 as a member of the boy band Blue and later for playing Ryan Knight in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. E ...

. They came third.

Series three

In 2008 Filippov appeared on ''Dancing on Ice'' partnered by singer

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

. They were voted out in week nine (the semi-finals).

Series four

In 2009 Filippov was partnered with ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' runner-up

Ray Quinn Raymond Arthur Quinn (born 25 August 1988) is an English actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role as Anthony Murray in '' Brookside'' from 2000 to 2003. He achieved more public recognition when he auditioned for the third serie ...

, and in week one they were at the top of the leaderboard with 23.5 (out of a possible 30) points. In week five of the competition the couple scored 26.5 points out of a possible 30. In week six of the competition Filippov and Quinn scored 30 points, the first highest score of the series and the earliest perfect score to be awarded in any series. Filippov and Quinn were announced as the winners in the final on 22 March in which they gained a maximum score of 30 for both of their performances.

Series five

In 2010 Filippov was partnered with former ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' actor

Gary Lucy Gary Edward Lucy (born 27 November 1981) is an English people, English actor, television personality and model who is best known for playing List of The Bill characters (E–L)#Will Fletcher, Will Fletcher in the ITV (TV network), ITV police dra ...

. They made it to the final, after beating

Danniella Westbrook Danniella Westbrook (born 5 November 1973) is an English actress and television personality. She is best known for playing Sam Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Westbrook has also presented various television shows and was a conte ...

and Matthew Gonzalez in the semi-final skate-off. They came second to

Hayley Tamaddon Hayley Soraya Tamaddon (born 24 January 1977) is a British actress. She is known for her roles in the ITV (TV network), ITV soap operas as Del Dingle in ''Emmerdale'' and Andrea Beckett in ''Coronation Street''. Tamaddon won the Dancing on Ice ...

in both the scores and the final result.

Series six

For 2011 Filippov was partnered with

Craig McLachlan Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap o ...

, but was eliminated in the second qualifying week along with Elen Rivas and

Łukasz Różycki Łukasz Różycki (; born 13 December 1979 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish pair skating, pair skater who competed with Aneta Kowalska. He is married to Finnish skater Alexandra Schauman. Competitive highlights ''Dancing on Ice'' In January 201 ...

Series seven

In the 2012 series Maria was partnered with former ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

'' presenter

Andy Akinwolere Odunayo Andrew Akinwolere (born 30 November 1982), previously known as Andy Akinwolere, is a British television presenter. Early life Akinwolere was born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1982, and moved to the United Kingdom with his family when he was ei ...

. They were eliminated in the first week.

Series eight

Filippov partnered

winner

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 a ...

for 2013. They were voted off in week 5, finishing 8th overall.

Series nine

In the All-Stars series in 2014, Filippov was reunited with series 4 partner

''Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice''

Filippov took part in the Australian version of ''Dancing on Ice'' with model Jake Wall, which they won.

Personal life

Maria Filippov was married to the late Andrei Filippov and has a son, Anton.

References

External links

*
Maria Filippov on MSN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filippov, Maria 1973 births Bulgarian female ice dancers Living people Reality show winners