The first look at Liverpool’s The Vivienne on Dancing on Ice has been revealed.
The 30-year-old TV personality is the first ever drag queen to compete on the ITV series and will be up against the likes of Patsy Palmer, ex-Gladiators host John Fashanu and Love Island’s latest winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.
The series returns to ITV and ITVX on Sunday, January 15 2023 with a new cast. In usual fashion, eleven celebrities prepare to “embark on the ultimate challenge” as they take to the ice each week, skating live in a bid to impress both the panel and viewers at home.
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The new series “promises more glitz, glamour and show-stopping performances” as the celebrities brave it all to “learn this dangerous discipline”.
The Vivienne is partnered with Colin Grafton. The 31-year-old American joined the series last year, however, did not have a celebrity partner. For his first series, Colin was involved with the group numbers as there were more pro skaters than celebrities, similar to Strictly Come Dancing.
The Vivienne was the sixth celebrity to be announced as part of the line-up back in October 2022. Revealing the news on Twitter, The Cher impersonator tweeted: “I'm beyond excited to announce that I will be competing in Dancing on Ice in 2023. This is honestly a dream come true and I can't wait to start training on the ice. To be the first drag artist to take part in one of the big UK reality competition shows is truly an honour. I think it's a big step forward for queer representation on TV.”
Since then, the former Superstar Boudoir DJ has been teasing fans by posting behind-the-scenes clips of her preparing for the ice on her social media. The RuPaul’s Drag Race star and the first-ever winner has previously expressed her concerns that the professional dancers will struggle to lift her
The Vivienne, who is often 6ft 6in costume, told The Mirror: “A drag queen has never performed before so we’re not quite sure how it will work yet. Drag is very restrictive. It is going to make skating much harder.
“I think we are going to struggle on the lifts because I am not sure if I’ll be lifting them or they will be lifting me. I can’t wear a body corset, which I normally do but still, all the padding and boobs could get in the way. But on the plus side, the wigs are so big, it’ll be like I am wearing a crash helmet.”
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