This year’s Dancing On Ice contestants
As an actress, singer, dancer and TV presenter, Denise Van Outen has become used to being in the spotlight during her 20 years plus career.
But Denise says that Dancing On Ice will be her toughest performance stint to date because of the dangerous moves and the risk of injury – though she can’t wait to impress daughter Betsy, who she shares with her ex-husband, actor Lee Mead.
She says, “This is all good fun, but it’s really hard. I’ve watched the show for years, though I’ve always said no [to participating] because I’ve always thought it’s too dangerous. I’m getting there, but I do feel scared on the ice, because I’ve never done skating before.
“But I got to a point in my life where I thought, ‘If I don’t try it now, then when?’ Betsy’s ten, so she’s at an age where seeing her mummy do this is quite cool. If I leave it another few years, she’ll be embarrassed by me!”
As a lifelong lover of fitness and exercise Denise is in the same great shape in her mid-forties as she was in her twenties, when she first rose to fame presenting Channel 4 morning show The Big Breakfast.
Denise was last on our screens on Celebrity Gogglebox last autumn, alongside her partner of six years Eddie Boxshall. And she now says that she can’t wait for the live shows and that, having worked hard with a personal trainer to get fit for the show, she isn’t fazed by the skimpy outfits so is more than happy to show off the results of her hard work.
She adds, “Before we started skating last year, I was training quite hard – because I was hoping to do a show in London in 2021 for which I needed to get back into a pair of fishnet tights. I thought, ‘I cannot be doing that with a belly overhang!’ So I’ve been training quite a lot anyway. But I’ve definitely toned up.
“I’m 46 – this is probably my last chance. I’ve trained and worked hard to get in shape. So I said, ‘You know what, whatever you have to put on me, I’ll wear it – however revealing!’
I really don’t care!”