Dancing On Ice 2021: The star-studded line-up so far

The Dancing On Ice line-up for 2021 seems to be shaping, or should 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:

– Rebekah Vardy

The model and presenter, 38, is no stranger to reality TV, having appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2017 and joined her husband, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, for two episodes of Celebrity Gogglebox.

Vardy made headlines around the world in October last year when rival Wag Coleen Rooney publicly claimed her Instagram account was the source of leaked stories about her private life.

Vardy denies the accusation and the pair are locked in a legal dispute.

– 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.”