ICE WORK, BROOKE
Star has 2-hour skate lessons before Corrie Torvill and Dean spot romance...
CORRIE fave Brooke Vincent is confident she won’t crack on Dancing On Ice.
The young star has endured a tough training regime to prepare for the glitzy but gruelling ITV figure skating show.
For two hours a day she has been on the ice, before hitting the cobbles for 12-hour days playing Sophie Webster.
She has been tired and stressed but has enjoyed the hard work. And she is taking the experience so seriously that she has stopped smoking and i mproved her diet.
Brooke, 25, said: “What scares me is the fear of the unknown. But I work a bit better under pressure. After the first show I’ll know how I’ll deal with it.
“If I fall I’ll just lie there until I get stretchered out. I fall over a lot and I’ve got a lot of bruises but it’s part and parcel of it.”
And Brooke will not be too worried about the reaction from acid-tongued judge Jason Gardiner.
She has honed her back- chatting skills over 13 years as gobby Sophie, sister to Street floozy Rosie, played by Helen Flanagan.
She said: “I’d answer back to Jason. You’ll have been rehearsing so if someone starts saying something you’re going to go, ‘Hang on, I tried really hard’. I’ve been getting up at 5am, doing my two hours, and going to work until 7pm. You do get tired. It’s been stressful but I wouldn’t want it any other way. The best thing is y ou are working so hard but you enjoy it. My body feels OK.”
Brooke’s Coronation Street co-star Antony Cotton, who plays Sean Tully, is also taking part. Brooke, who is dating footballer Kean Bryan, said: “We do moan but we secretly love it.”
Partnered with pro Matej Silecky, she admitted she gets dizzy quickly during training but said she is not concerned about the show’s skimpy outfits. She said: “It’s not so sexy. It’s more current and the outfits are cooler. If you say you’re not comfortable with something they will change it.”
This year’s crop of celebs includes Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown, 33, Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker, 63, and X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden. Judge Christopher Dean said: “We have heard good things about Jake.” SKATING legends Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill say romance is already blossoming between some of the Dancing On Ice couples – before the show even goes on air. The ex-Olympic champions – who are back on the show as judges – say they can spot telltale signs as celebrities and professional skaters are thrown together. Christopher, 59, said: “I guarantee there is going to be a romance but I couldn’t say who at this stage. “It’s so tactile. Literally you’ve got to hold, you’ve got to trust, you’ve got to spend the hours together. “It’s always bubbling underneath – looks, little touches, eye contact. The body language is easy to spot.” Pal Jayne, 60, is also an expert at spotting when a couple grow close. She said: “We see it because we are always there. We always know.” The show has a history of romances. Hollyoaks’ Jennifer Metcalfe, 35, dated skate partner Sylvain Longchambon, 37, for two years. He was later partnered on the show with Corrie’s Samia Ghadie, 35 – and they are now married with a son. And father-of-two Christopher himself famously found love with former show judge Karen Barber, 56. In 2011 the Sunday People revealed married Karen had spent nights at his apartment. Fa t h e r- o f - t w o Christopher then announced his marriage to Jill Trenary was over. He and Karen now live together in Colorado Springs, US.