Saira: My kids wanted me to do this.. I just hope I’m not embarrassing
Dancing on Ice star fears slipping up
TV PRESENTER Saira Khan let her kids talk her into doing Dancing on Ice – but now fears she will fall flat on her face and embarrass them.
The Loose Women panellist, who has a son Zac, nine, and daughter Amara, seven, said: “If I’m all right on day one, they’ll be like, ‘That’s our mum.’
“But if they think, ‘Oh God she’s just made a complete t*t of herself’, they’re going to be like, ‘I don’t know who she is.’”
Saira said the skating show had become a “rite of passage” for Loose Women panellists, with Andrea McLean, Nadia Sawalha, Coleen Nolan and Denise Welch all competing in previous series.
Saira, 48, said: “Andrea broke her ribs, Nadia got kicked off first and Coleen and Denise did OK – so, really, I’ve got everything to gain.” With dance partner Mark Hanretty, 33, she will be up against Gemma Collins, Grease star Didi Conn, Westlife idol Brian McFadden, Corrie actress Jane Danson and Love Island finalist Wes Nelson when the series starts on January 6. But Saira had felt it was “the wrong time” when she was asked to take part. She said: “I was like, ‘Absolutely no way. I’m moving house, I’ve got too many jobs and I need to spend more time with the family.’ “Then my kids said, ‘This is the one show we watch that we want you to do.’” Gemma, 37, plans to be hard to beat. In 2014, she quit I’m A Celebrity after three days. Now she aims to prove she has “fighting spirit”. She said: “It’s all good TV. This is what it’s about – the GC’s all about the drama, isn’t she? “I’m going to prove a lot of people wrong and that’s the bit I can’t wait for.” Gemma then declared: “I’m not here to take part, I’m here to take over.”
My kids said, ‘This is the one show that we want you to do’ SAIRA KHAN DANCING ON ICE CONTESTANT