Image: Credit to Matt Marcheski
By Jon Donnis
Vanessa Bauer is stepping into a new chapter. Best known to many as a star of Dancing on Ice, she has swapped the rink for film sets, and her next roles suggest she is taking that transition seriously. Two major projects are about to push her acting career to another level, and both show off different sides of what she can do.
First up is Rise of the Footsoldier: Ibiza, the seventh entry in the long-running British crime saga. Due for release in January 2026, it drops viewers into 1994, with Craig Fairbrass returning as the ruthless Pat Tate. Bauer plays Isabella, a young woman on the island to avenge her father's death, who soon finds herself working as an undercover informant for American special agents. The cast around her is stacked with familiar names, from Tamer Hassan and Leo Gregory to Jamie Foreman and Ross McCall. Bauer has clearly thrown herself into the role, tackling the shoot-outs, fights, and heavy emotional beats head on. As she put it, Isabella begins in a world shaped by men's expectations, but finds her strength and takes control.
Photo credit TAIKAN
If that film gives her a dramatic showcase, her second project feels like a full-circle moment. Bauer appears in Netflix's adaptation of Richard Osman's bestseller The Thursday Murder Club, directed by Chris Columbus. It's hard not to smile at the symmetry: a skater making her name in a story full of legends, from Helen Mirren to Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley, and yet finding her own place on screen. Bauer plays the ice-skating partner of Tom Ellis's character, a role that let her draw directly on her professional background. Teaching Ellis the basics of skating, then performing alongside him under Columbus's direction, clearly meant a lot to her. She described it as surreal, especially working with the filmmaker who helped shape her childhood through the Harry Potter films.
There's an energy in how Bauer talks about both projects. No grand claims, just a sense of someone throwing themselves into opportunities and relishing the challenge. Footsoldier puts her at the centre of a brutal underworld, while The Thursday Murder Club leans into her unique skill set for a gentler, though still high-profile, part. Together, they show she is carving out a career on her own terms, moving between genres, and not afraid of demanding work. For someone making the leap from ice to screen, this feels like only the start.
As you might tell, here at BeenToTheMovies.com we are big fans of Vanessa Bauer, and we cant wait to see what is next for her, on this latest journey in an already impressive career.
