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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Rose Hill

Dancing On Ice final shake-up as new challenge could crown winner in major twist

Dancing On Ice bosses are shaking up this year's final by throwing a new challenge into the mix - which could end up crowning the 2023 winner.

The Vivienne, Joey Essex and Nile Wilson have battled their way into the final after wowing the judges with their incredible skating skills.

But there will be one big change this year that they'll all need to watch out for.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Dancing On Ice's Creative Director Dan Whiston has revealed what fans can expect from this year's final.

"Everyone will be doing a showcase which is being worked on with Torvill and Dean," he tells us. "So Torvill and Dean teach them a showcase - and that showcase is a huge production number which will include extra professionals who will join the company. Also, dancers on the stage - huge production numbers.

Joey Essex, The Vivienne and Nile Wilson have made it to the final (ITV)

"But there is also a new number that is coming in and I can't give too much away about it but it's super exciting and it will make a difference to the score and it will make a difference to the result. Don't want to give away too much, but there's something new in the final to look out for!"

Of course, a Dancing On Ice final wouldn't be complete without the Bolero, but is it challenging to try and reinvent it every year?

"The heart of Bolero always stays the same," he says. "Sometimes we dress it up differently, but the heart is there.

"The Bolero will always be Torvill and Dean's Bolero, it really will, and sometimes it will be dressed up as something new, particularly if you have a celebrity who wants to put a new flavour to it or a different feel. We go with that because that's their personality and that's what they want to do.

Dancing On Ice's Creative Director Dan Whiston spoke to the Mirror (ITV)

"But we keep the heart of the Bolero as Bolero, because that's important to us as well."

Dan reckons the right stars are definitely in the final - and revealed that they were initially three of the worst skaters out of the whole group.

He tells us: "On that first day we have something called a masterclass at Alexandra Palace where all of the celebrities get together and I remember seeing the Vivienne, I remember seeing Nile and I remember seeing Joey and they were probably three of the worst.

"They could not stand up! Joey fell over and cut his finger on the first day, the Vivienne literally could not stand up and Nile wasn't much better, he was falling all over the place. So for me now, I'm so proud to see those in the final because they've put the work in.

"They put the extra hours, they'd done the extra time, they'd been in dance studios, they'd been in front of mirrors. Anything they could have done they have done!"

The celebrities will perform their version of the Bolero (Allsport)
Holly and Phil will return to host the final (Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Among the biggest challenges this year, Dan says, has been the numerous injuries - which is nothing new. What is different, however, is having the first ever drag queen competing on the show. While her and pro partner Colin Grafton's flawless lifts have been incredible to watch, initially trying to figure out the mechanics of doing the lifts was tricky.

"One of the biggest challenges we've got to acknowledge this year is this Vivienne because obviously the Vivienne is a drag queen, but they're also a man in the sense that the Vivienne as a male form," Dan explains. "So they're quite heavy!

"For Colin to lift the Vivienne and not have any restrictions for those lifts and to pick him up and spin him around and to do everything that we've been doing with the Vivienne and Colin has been amazing to watch this year because it's not like, 'Oh, the Vivienne's a bit heavier than anyone else he's been skating with before.'

"He's not let that hold him back and they've not let that hold them back as a couple - they've produced some fantastic lifts and some fantastic skating, so it's been incredible to have made history this year by having a drag queen on the show and we've not let anything get in our way with heights or anything."

*Dancing On Ice final airs Sunday at 6.30pm on ITV

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