Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
My skating lessons are going
Ice rink training leaves favourite Maura cold...
DESPITE being tipped as a favourite, Maura Higgins has revealed her Dancing On Ice lessons are going “s***e”.
The Love Island star is just a couple of weeks into rehearsals but has already raced to the top of the leaderboard due to her popularity.
However, sharing snippets from her skating sessions, the 28-year-old admitted she is struggling on the ice.
Taking to Instagram yesterday, Maura posted a fed-up looking photo and wrote: “Training today went very... s***e. The end.”
She was later spotted waiting for a taxi outside the rink, sipping from a water bottle and smoking a cigarette.
With her red training bag in tow, she was wearing black leggings, black boots and a warm white puffa jacket with her hair tied back in a messy bun.
The former grid girl from Longford revealed she is finding the lessons tougher than expected.
In her first joint interview with boyfriend Curtis Pritchard, she told OK! Magazine: “I keep falling over because I have no balance.”
Dancing pro Curtis chimed in to poke fun at his other half, joking: “Let’s just say she’s not a professional ice skater.” Maura is joining former chat show host Trisha Goddard and TV veteran Michael Barrymore on the Virgin Media One show.
She will also battle presenter Joe Swash and 23-year-old Diversity dancer Perri Kiely.
But despite her wobbly sessions at the rink, Maura, the first contestant to be confirmed, has already been tipped to win.
According to the latest betting odds, she is neck and neck with Perri to make it through to the end of the competition.
Nicola Mcgeady of Ladbrokes said: “Perri is the 2/1 favourite but Maura is close second at 5/1.
“Although Perri will have the dancing skills we think Maura’s popularity could make her a real contender to go all the way.”
Of the rest of the contestants, she revealed Joe Swash is placed at 6/1, Caprice and Ian Watkins are both 8/1 and Libby Clegg is 10/1.
LADBROKES YESTERDAY