The competitors in the next season of Dancing on Ice will include former England and Northampton Saints rugby union player Ben Foden.
Foden is the latest celebrity announced as taking to the rink, following Bez from Happy Mondays, Coronation Street’s Sally Dynevor and Paralympian Stef Reid.
“I used to skate a little when I was a kid,” Foden said following the Dancing on Ice announcement. “I’d go to ice discos when I was 15, 16 and you’d always see these kids that could do pirouettes that had a proper dancing background.
READ MORE: Dancing on Ice 2022 line-up: What did Bez do in the Happy Mondays
“I like the idea of learning a new sport and a new skill. I’m quite competitive as well so I like the challenge of competing against others doing something that I’m not necessarily good at.”
Here are some more details about Ben Foden.
Who is Ben Foden and how old is he?
Foden is 36 years old and was born in Chester. He excelled at rugby through his school years, playing for England at under-16 and under-19 levels. During his career, he’s played at both scrum-half and full-back.
He signed for Sale Sharks in 2004 before moving to Northampton Saints in 2008. In 2019 he moved stateside to play for Rugby United New York. Between 2009 and 2013 Foden played for England 34 times.
Foden got the nickname ‘Pop Idol’ after skipping his first day of pre-season training for Sale Sharks to audition for Simon Cowell’s star-making Saturday night singing extravaganza.
He did eventually fulfil his singing ambitions by competing in The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 as part of the group Try Star with fellow rugby union players Levi Davis and Thom Evans. The group got to the semi-finals before bowing out.
Who is Ben Foden’s wife?
Jackie Belanoff Smith is Ben Foden’s second wife, and the pair married in 2019. Belanoff Smith is an American who was living in New York at the time that she and Foden met, and runs The Goddess Line, a beauty products brand. They live in Connecticut with their daughter Farrah, who was born in 2020.
Foden married Una Healy of the Saturdays in June 2012 in Ireland, and the couple have two children, Aoife and Tadhg. Healy and Foden separated in 2018.
