The start of the New Year brings with it a new series of Dancing On Ice, with a whole host of famous (and terrified) faces set to take to the rink.
Holly Willoughby returns to host the ITV reality show, alongside Stephen Mulhern, who made his debut as her co-presenter last series, replacing Phillip Schofield.
Joining them will be Olympic legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who take charge of the judging panel alongside returnees Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse.
This year, bosses have signed up some exciting stars, all desperately hoping to avoid catastrophe as they begin skating for the nation next weekend.
We’ve got a Coronation Street legend, an EastEnders powerhouse, and several fiery reality TV personalities to provide Entertainment over the coming weeks.
In a first look at the new series, which is Dancing On Ice’s 17th outing, the celebs pose with their professional partners after undergoing a dazzling makeover.
Dan Edgar is one celeb competing this year, and he’ll be skating with Vanessa James Amoros, who has a stash of Olympic medals in her collection.
Best known for appearing on the ITVBe reality series The Only Way Is Essex, Dan, 34, rose to fame in 2015.
But he isn’t the only Towie star getting their skates on, as Ferne McCann is also taking on the challenge.
Ferne, 34, is partnered with American pro and fan favourite Brendyn Hatfield, who is also dating former contestant, S Club’s Rachel Stevens.
After being propelled to stardom on Towie in 2013, Ferne began appearing across channels on other reality shows, including a 2015 stint in the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! jungle.
She later started sharing a glimpse into her home life with her own programmes, such as First Time Mum and My Family & Me, which documented the ups and downs of parenting her two young daughters.
Another reality star competing in Dancing On Ice this year is Mollie Pearce, who is known for reaching the final of BBC’s The Traitors in 2024.
Mollie narrowly missed out on a life-changing prize pot of over £90,000, as Traitor Harry Clark managed to fool her all the way to the end and steal the lot.
But something tells us Mollie isn’t bitter, as she’s also bagged herself a special pro for Dancing On Ice. She’ll skate with Colin Grafton, who previously performed with the late Drag Race star The Vivienne.
Mollie, 22, was also born with no fingers on her right hand and has repeatedly used her platform to raise awareness of both limb deficiencies and stomas.
As for soap stars, we have two titans joining this time in the form of Corrie’s Sam Aston (aka Chesney Brown) and Charlie Brooks (Janine Butcher).
Sam has been on screens since he was little, melting hearts as the adorable Ches from the year 2003.
Meanwhile, Charlie first entered Albert Square in 1999 and, in 2022, appeared in her 1,000th episode. She’s also acted in other series such as The Bill and Lie With Me.
Speaking of soaps, there’s another actress bringing drama to the rink, as Waterloo Road star Chelsee Healey, 36, will skate with Andy Buchanan.
Rounding off the lineup, and since Dancing On Ice is no stranger to signing sports stars, we have former English footballer Anton Ferdinand, 39, and retired rower Sir Steve Redgrave, who is this year’s oldest contestant at 62.
They’ll skate against TV host Michaela Strachan, 58, who is best known for her work on Springwatch; stand-up comedian Josh Jones, 32; and Love Island troublemaker Chris Taylor, 34.
Alas, just missing out is Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, who, in December, said she was ‘absolutely gutted’ to have to pull out due to fracturing her ankle.
Dancing On Ice returns on Sunday, January 12, at 6:30pm, on ITV1 and ITVX.
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