It's time to grab those thermals and a rink-side seat… the greatest show on ice has returned with 12 fearless famous faces getting their skates on for Dancing On Ice 2024.
Following his successful stint standing in for a poorly Phillip Schofield last series, Stephen Mulhern joined resident host Holly Willoughby, bringing us all the twirls, lifts and spins for 2024.
Our daring dozen have already started to impress resident Ice Panel: Diversity’s Ashley Banjo, ex-Strictly pro Oti Mabuse and ice-dancing legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, for the chance to triumph like last year’s winner, Olympic gymnast, Nile Wilson.
Last weekend we saw the first six celebrities taking to the ice, West End star Amber Davies, Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford, S Club star Hannah Spearritt, boxing champ Ricky Hatton, Emmerdale actress Roxy Shahidi and ex-Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas, who has revealed he’s been getting tips from a certain Dancing on Ice legend…
What’s your main motivation for doing Dancing on Ice?
"It's a strange one... I got a phone call out of the blue one day from my eldest daughter, Scarlett [Currently playing Izzy Charles in Waterloo Road], who rang me up and said: ‘Dad, would you please do Dancing on Ice? I think you’d be really good.’ I said I’d think about it, then a week later, I got a call from producers asking if I’d do Dancing on Ice! So, after that chat with my daughter, I instantly said yes. Instinctively, I thought this is the reason I’m doing it: for Scarlett."
You're best friends with your former Coronation Street co-star Chris Fountain, who came runner up on series three of Dancing on Ice in 2008. What does he think of you taking part?
"Ah, Chris Fountain, the main man! He's pretty special on the ice and I'm privileged enough to to call him a friend. I'm his biggest fan and now he’s gonna be my biggest fan. He had a little skate around with my pro-partner Amani [Fancy, two-time British national champion] and he put me to shame - they were like magic on the ice. It was amazing to watch. I doubt I could pull off something like his Cry Me a River routine but if I'm even half the man he is on the ice, it'd be nice to do him proud."
What tips has he given you?
"Well, Chris was around my house on Christmas Eve just gone and my partner Lucy walked into the living room and saw me and Chris standing really close to each other, holding hands and doing all the footwork and skating moves. And she’s like: ‘What’s going on here? Is there something you’re not telling me?’ He was just being Amani for that evening. Anyone who’s done the show before knows there’s so much to take in that your brain is frazzled by the end of each day, so Chris has told me to enjoy the whole process because it’s over before you know it."
What has training for Dancing on Ice taught you about yourself so far?
"Well, I actually thought I could ice skate until I started to figure skate, so it’s taught me that I couldn’t before and now I can! You learn so much in such a short space of time, so the most valuable lesson I've got from this is don't get too confident with something you think you're good at - once you get on the ice with those pros, they really teach you a lesson!"
How competitive are you?
"I don't think I’m competitive but other people say I'm competitive, so I don't know what I am any more! I just think it's all about trying your best. I can sometimes have some self doubt in my capabilities and give myself a hard time. So, for me, it's just about having a little bit of self belief and remembering that there were things I couldn’t do at the start that now I can."
Judges Ashley Banjo, Oti Mabuse and, of course, ice dancing legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean will be critiquing the performances. How do you handle criticism?
"I love constructive criticism, I thrive on it. It makes me work harder. You know, there was always that teacher at school who’d tell me off; it makes me work harder and that's my favourite bit because I know it's coming from a good place. I don't want anyone to say I'm amazing because I won’t improve anymore. I want them to say: ‘That was terrible. Try harder next time!’ That’s when you’ll get the best out of me."
The next episode of Dancing on Ice airs on Sunday, January 21 at 6.30pm on ITV1.
