Put blades on your feet, not in your pocket
Comic on how he escaped gang culture
some flesh will also help him win over the mums in the audience.
But while his life is now devoted to axel jumps, sequins and winning votes each Sunday, it could very easily have been a different kind of blade that was keeping him up at night.
For aged just 14, Darren was the kind of teen most mums fear – a knife-wielding wannabe gangster, who now admits that it was a miracle he never killed anyone.
At 34, Darren hopes he can not only win over mums but also inspire troubled young men to swap knives for skates.
“If there was a kid who is in a gang and is watching me on Dancing On Ice, it would be nice to show them that things can change,” explains Darren.
“Your life can change. Things can get better. You can have more fun. I would never have thought that I would do something like this in my entire life, especially back then.
“When I was in a gang, it was all about ego. You want to be seen as tough and scary.
“Now I’m literally, by trade, a clown! It’s like, put the blades on your feet, not in your pockets.”
Growing up in a poverty stricken family in Oldbury, West Midlands, Darren saw his drug addict dad, Patrick, repeatedly jailed for dealing.
When I was in a gang it was about ego.. now I am literally a clown HARRIOTT ON HIS LIFE AROUND
Darren was just 11 when his dad took his own life in his prison cell. Darren then got caught up in gang culture and admits the leaders of warring rivals Burger Bar Boys and the Johnson Crew, who fought vicious territorial battles around Birmingham, were “heroes” to him and his mates.
It was only when he fell foul of his own gang and was beaten unconscious that he finally walked away.
He got his head down at school, went to college and quickly discovered comedy, which he credits with saving him.
He also hopes his appearance on the ITV show will inspire people from all walks of life.
He says: “I don’t really see many Black people on the ice rinks, or ice skating in general. Hopefully, more people will see me and they’ll go, ‘Oh wow. Darren can do it. I can do it.’”
“And I tell you another thing. When I have kids, I’m going to get them on the ice. When I started training at Alexandra Palace [in North London], it was just little kids, predominantly.
“They would fall over, just get up, brush themselves off, and carry on. No crying. I liked that resilience and that toughness.”
After nearly five months of training, Darren is in the best shape of his life.
He started at 16 stone but has since lost more than a stone. “My legs are in the best shape they’ve ever been in,” he says.
Ekin-su Culculoglu, 28, who Darren met on Love Island spin-off Aftersun, got a raft of complaints for one risque Dancing On Ice outfit. So is he planning to follow suit to win votes?
“I’ve heard rumblings,” he laughs. “And if I make it to next week there’s going to be a bit more flesh on show! Drive the ladies wild, something for the mums, that’s what we say!” And it seems the longer he stays in the competition, the more daring a stunt he’s willing to tackle.
So it’s a good job he is partnered with fearless Us-born pro Tippy Packard, 27. “Tippy’s up for everything. It’s like she’s got a death wish!” he says. “And I’m definitely up for the dangerous stuff.”
With daring moves comes big risk, and Darren has already had his arm glued after it was sliced by Tippy’s blade. That was just in training, long before the live shows even started.
He adds: “I’ve got bruising on my hip, and whiplash – that’s a real bad one. I’m seeing a physio. I’m suffering!”
Darren may have lost weight but he’s tall. And as the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
“Everybody falls,” he says. “One of the things the trainers said when I got whiplash, was, ‘Darren, you’ll have worse falls.’ I was like, “Oh, thanks, bro! That makes me feel better!’”
Hitting the ice might hurt but it’s nothing compared to hitting rock bottom as a teen. However just like the kids at the rink, Darren has shown he can also pull himself back up. No wonder he admired their resilience.
Dancing On Ice is on Virgin Media One, tomorrow at 6.25pm.