Ashley Ortega opens up on playing a character with disability on 'Hearts on Ice'

Ashley Ortega is set to play a figure skater with a leg disability in the upcoming Kapuso series "Hearts on Ice."

According to Cata Tibayan's report on "24 Oras," Tuesday, Ashley's character Ponggay has a leg impairment so she has to wear a leg brace while skating.

The Sparkle actress said it was challenging to skate with the brace, but she still pulled it off.

"She is very bright despite her challenges in life pati iyong disability niya hindi niya ginawang handlang iyon para hindi matupad ang dreams. Parang ako, I still continue to pursue my passion and dreams," said Ashley about her character.

She also did her own skating stunts on the show.

"Normal lang sa aming mga skaters na sumemplang at para makita ng mga tao kung paano kaming mga athletes sumemplang how we get back up and do it again," she said.

Xian Lim stars as Ashley's love interest in the story. The full trailer for the series introduces the other characters on the show.

"Hearts on Ice" will premiere on March 13 after "Mga Lihim ni Urduja" on GMA Telebabad.

—Kimberly Tsao/MGP, GMA Integrated News