Dancing On Ice 2021: Which celebrities will be taking to the ice?
Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby will return as presenters of the new series of the ITV programme.
The Dancing on Ice line-up for 2021 seems to be shaping, or should be that be skating, up nicely.
The TV series will air next year and will be presented by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, who will be joined by the expert panel of Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, John Barrowman and Ashley Banjo.
Here is a look at who has signed up so far:
Colin Jackson
Former Olympic hurdler Jackson, 53, said he could do “a little bit of skating”. The Welsh star is no stranger to showing off fancy footwork, having come second in the 2005 series of Strictly Come Dancing with dance partner Erin Boag.
Jackson called time on his athletics career in front of an adoring home crowd at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in 2003.
Graham Bell
Bell, 54, is an ex-Olympic skier and admitted that the “transferable skills of edge control, balance” in his sport would be useful on the ice.
Bell was British ski champion eight times and retired as a professional ski racer in 1998. He has since become a TV presenter, journalist and adventurer.
Myleene Klass
The musician and television presenter was the first celebrity skater to be confirmed as taking part in Dancing On Ice 2021.
As she announced the news on social media, Klass said her daughters, Ava, 12, and Hero, nine, are both “obsessed” with skating and wanted her to take part in the show, but she was afraid someone would skate over her fingers.
“They both ice skate and I stand there and I hold the coats,” she said.
“Now it’s my turn to learn and I can’t wait.”
Joe-Warren Plant
Emmerdale’s 18-year-old star, who is known for playing Jacob Gallagher, will also take part in the ITV programme.
The soap actor said he is “so excited to learn something new” after being unveiled as a contestant.
“I can’t wait. I love getting dressed up, fancy dress parties, it’s all part of the fun,” he told ITV’s This Morning.
Denise Van Outen
Presenter and actress Van Outen is also taking part in the competition.
She previously finished as runner-up in the 10th series of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 and earlier this year competed on The Masked Singer as Fox.
Van Outen, 46, told ITV’s Loose Women it will be “lovely and refreshing to see a bit of sparkle, a bit of glamour and see us all happy and smiling enjoying ourselves on the ice”.
Faye Brookes
The actress, who has said she is a trained dancer, will also star in the new series of Dancing On Ice.
In a social media post, she previously said that “attempting to put something I already know very well on skates is quite scary”.
Brookes, 33, is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Kate Connor on Coronation Street.
Jason Donovan
Australian actor and singer Donovan will also compete in the programme.
The 52-year-old, who shot to fame by playing Scott Robinson in the soap Neighbours, said skating “is all about balance and confidence”.
He told ITV’s This Morning: “I’ve done a little bit of skating in my youth, in Australia, surprisingly in the heat of an Australian summer.
“I’ve surfed, I’ve skied a lot so I guess I’ll bring a little bit of that confidence.”
Sonny Jay
Jay has said he is “so excited” to be taking part in the new series.
The former Britain’s Got Talent contestant, 27, told his Capital Radio co-hosts he does not “know how I kept it a secret”, adding: “I don’t want to fall over, not in front of the nation.
“I don’t want to be a meme the next day.”