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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Jasmine Allday

Inside secret Dancing On Ice WhatsApp group as hopefuls 'banter' with their competition

This year's Dancing On Ice stars have a secret WhatsApp group.

Ben Foden divulged all about the 12 contestants' special private chat, as he quipped there had been a bit of "banter" between some of the celebs as they prepared to take to the ice.

Last week, six celebrities and their pro partners - Bez and Angela Eagan, Brendan Cole and Vanessa Bauer, Sally Dynevor and Matt Evers, Ria Hebden and Łukasz Różycki, Kye Whyte and Tippy Packard and Kimberly Wyatt and Mark Hanretty - took to the ice, whilst this week, it's the turn of Connor Ball and Alexandra Schauman, Ben Foden and Robin Johnstone, Liberty Poole and Joe Johnson, Regan Gascoigne and Karina Manta, Stef Reid and Andy Buchanan.

Rachel Stevens and Brendyn Hatfield will unfortunately miss this week after the S Club star injured herself in training.

Ben will dance this weekend (ITV)

"We do have a WhatsApp group. Brendan was the one who put it together very quickly off the bat. We've had a bit of banter in there and yeah, it's part and parcel of what makes doing these shows so great," Ben shared to The Mirror and other press.

"It's meeting new people and seeing what they're about. And hopefully, we'll maintain these friendships long after the show too, that's the main thing as well. You make friends on these sort of shows and you'll create friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime."

Brendan Cole impressed on the ice last weekend (ITV)

Ben has been scouting out his competition and is worried about a few of the celebs.

"I think everyone's pretty good. It was said with Brendan going first, they said he was the best first one they've ever seen. And Kimberly at the end was awesome as well. It shows the level of the competition," he said.

"We've all worked hard and every year it steps up and this year is really good. I've heard rumours about certain people, a certain Regan Gascoigne, who is supposed to have taken to it like a duck to water."

He added: "I've watched both Rachel and Connor and in the last interviews, they played themselves right down whilst I was trying to big myself up. Don't let anyone fool you, everyone is good - everyone has their strengths.

"I've watched Rachel, she's very graceful, she knows her lines. Connor is a bundle of energy, his skating is awesome. I know that he's going to be wicked when he jumps on the ice. Everyone's going to be good, everyone's a competition."

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