Get your skates on! It’s Matt Evers, our new DOI columist, and his partner Denise van Outen
Say hello to best’s brilliant new Dancing on Ice columnist, the skating show favourite Matt Evers…
He’s been an integral part of the hit ITV skating show since it first started in 2006, making a splash with Gemma Collins two years ago (especially when she fell...), and making history with Steps star ‘H’ last year as the first same-sex skating couple. So, who better to give best readers the lowdown on all things Dancing on Ice, but pro skater Matt Evers? The Californian native, 44, who is paired up with Essex actress and West End star Denise van Outen for the new series – kicking off this Sunday – tells us all about how he survived 2020 and living in a bubble with Denise and her family in Essex, as well as how his famous partner is truly doing on the ice…
Welcome, Matt! Excited to be our Dancing on Ice columnist?
Really excited! I feel like I’ve been part of the best magazine family for the past few years. I can’t wait to bring some of that backstage sparkle, glamour and gossip from behind-the-scenes to best’s lovely readers and social media. Things may be a little different this year, but it’s still going to be fabulous. The perfect pick-me-up we all need, I think.
How have you been since we last saw you on DOI?
Well…! I got stuck in the UK and couldn’t get back home to California. Lockdown was rough. I had Covid. And the anxiety… My down day was always Thursday, for some reason – every week! I just hung on like everyone else. But I was living with my flatmate in London, so I didn’t go through it alone, like so many. I have a small patio, too – I think everyone realises how important outdoor space is now. I just missed my family, still do.
You’re partnered with Denise van Outen, and moved in with her for a while, didn’t you?!
Yes, the original Essex girl got herself a new American flatmate – who kind of went full Essex during his time at her home! To be able to bubble up with Denise and her fiancé, Eddie [Boxshall], and Denise’s beautiful daughter, Betsy, was very special. They opened up their home to me. It was so nice to be around a family unit. I cook myself, but Eddie’s an incredible cook and their home was beautiful. I felt like I was living in a five-star hotel!
It looked like you lot had plenty of fun…
Oh, we’d order cocktails in on Saturday nights and have a little kitchen disco – Eddie’s a DJ. We had lots of fun – it’s finding that slice of normality within this chaos, letting off a bit of steam. Denise and Eddie have been
teaching me Cockney rhyming slang – I now know what ‘dog and bone’ and ‘apple and pears’ mean! I’ve been learning my old English history!
Does Denise have any annoying habits – and what would she say yours are?!
Well, I know she would say I sleep far too much. I love a nanna nap – I’m such an old man. For me, with Denise, she loves a cup of tea. The kettle is constantly on. How can anybody physically drink that much tea?! Oh, and I tumbledry my clothes – Denise is like, ‘I don’t understand why you tumble-dry all your clothes – even your socks?’ Hey, I’m an American. I like convenience.
How’s she doing on the ice?
She’s one of the most improved of any celeb I’ve ever had. You’ll see what I mean this weekend. Some of this year’s stars have a bit of skating experience, but not Denise – she couldn’t stand up at the beginning. The day she met Torvill and Dean, they had to skate over and help her on to the ice! I was like, ‘OK… this is going to be a challenge!’ But where she’s at now? It’s incredible. This is one of the best casts in general. Rebekah Hardy skated as a kid and is pretty good. Colin Jackson’s good, Emmerdale’s Joe Plant is young and pretty fearless.
‘Denise couldn’t stand up on the ice in the beginning – to get to where she is now is incredible’
It’s quite a feat that ITV got this show on at all…
Oh, the sleepless nights the production team have had since last April! There’s been a complete redesign of the studio and our schedules, and I get Covid tested twice a week. We won’t share dressing rooms… there’s a separate entrance for on-screen talent to crew, and protocols on the ice to keep us socially distanced. I feel for the celebs this year because, backstage at least, it’s going to feel a lot different. They’re not going to build that camaraderie they normally do, prior to filming. Denise and I barely saw another couple! If we did, they were behind glass.
How do the bubbles work?
So I bubbled with Denise last year for training – then a week before Christmas, left Essex and bubbled with the pros – that was the first point I got to train with my new pro partner, Klabera Komini – to practise all our routines and then pre-record them. Then, I bubbled back with Denise. Yes – it is a total Excel schedule nightmare. But it’ll be worth it – we are hoping to warm up those bleak January nights for you all!
Dancing on Ice returns to ITV this Sunday at 6pm.