WE’RE IN A SPIN!

Dancing On Ice introduces its first same-sex couple this year. He're, Ian 'H’ Watkins tells why he’s delighted they bear. Strictly to it –while three of his rivals the boost (and the bruises) the show's given them

We talk to the new stars of Dancing On Ice about their bumps and bruises – and the partnership that’s stolen a march on Strictly

Being part of history-inthe-making can be painful as well as exhilarating, it seems. When singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins – H from Steps to most of us – agreed to become the first celebrity on Dancing On Ice to compete with a samesex partner he knew he was signing up to something ground-breaking. Anatomy-breaking though?

There’s a hilarious moment during our catch-up with some of this year’s crop of contestants when his professional partner Matt Evers is discussing the differences between dancing with a female partner, and – a first for him too – dancing with another man. ‘In some ways it’s exactly the same,’ reveals Matt, who jokes that having previously been paired up with celebs like Pamela Anderson, Gemma Collins, Heather Mills and Denise Welch, he has ‘exhausted every type of female’. ‘Physically, everyone is different. It’s never just a case of male or female. You might have a tall woman, or a small one. Everyone’s a different shape, with a different level of flexibility or fitness. So in that respect, gender doesn’t matter. You deal with the person in front of you.’

He has encountered one difference, though. The lifts. Matt has years of experience lifting women and hurling them around. He knows exactly where his hands should go and where their bodies are likely to go. With Ian though, he got a surprise. ‘I think we’ve found one lift that might defeat us. It’s called the roll-up, where the girl rolls up over my body and ends up in a crucifix position on my back.

‘The first time we did it, Ian went up over my shoulder and I heard a scream of pain.’ The problem? ‘Let’s just say his jingle bells got in the way,’ chuckles Matt. Ian, whose voice has just about come back down an octave, winces and laughs. ‘We had to tell Jayne Torvill we’d discovered a move that doesn’t translate.’

Olympic champion Jayne is back on the judging panel for the new series, along with her ice dance partner Christopher Dean, Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo and, replacing resident Mr Nasty Jason Gardiner, former contestant John Barrowman. Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield also return as presenters. Of course, it’s a huge deal that Dancing On Ice is the first British dance show to have a same-sex partnership competing. Both men are gay (although they stress that’s not a requirement; Matt Evers says the Holy Grail in these matters should be that any two dancers can be paired up). It was Ian – who has twin toddler sons with his ex-partner, born in 2016 via a surrogate – who first mooted the idea to the show’s producers.

‘It was being done elsewhere and I very muc a part of th sion, he says same-sex coup ning the Danish S i in December. ‘I w the option to dance with the correct gender for my sexuality.’ It’s a natural progression, he argues.

Same-sex relationships are accepted in wider society and visible in competitive sport. In the sort of dance shows that dominate mainstream TV viewing, however, same-sex partnerships are simply not there. ‘As someone who grew up being bullied for their sexuality I want that sort of visibility, for young people to think it is perfectly normal. And we’ve beaten Strictly to it!’

What’s interesting is that Ian and Matt – who are both 43 and already the subject of ‘will they get together for real?’ gossip – seem attuned to the fact that this is still a controversial move by ITV. Today, they’re keen to stress that their routines won’t be raunchy. ‘It’s going to be more buddy-buddy,’ says Matt. ‘We have to gauge how the audience will react. Maybe other stuff will come later, but we don’t want to ram it down anyone’s throats.’

Nor will they be going too heavy on the camp factor (surprising, given that Ian’s band Steps was the epitome of camp). ‘It won’t be Tinkerbell and Peter Pan,’ he says. ‘It’s going to be more circus strongman... hopefully.’

Let’s walk, or at least glide, before we can run, though. When we speak, they’re in the early stages of training, although even at this point it sounds brutal. ‘There’s pain everywhere,’ says TV presenter Joe Swash, 37. ‘My bones are aching, and my back and knees. My bruises have bruises, I look like a Dalmatian. I’ve never done anything this tough and I’m still incredibly uncomfortable about the idea of using my body to express anything. The thing is, I can’t dance. I have no musicality. What I’m finding most difficult is that I’m the sort of person who goes at something at 100mph. You can’t do that with dancing on the ice, otherwise you fall over.’

Has he done any lifts yet? ‘Oh God no. My ice partner Alexandra Schauman was with James Jordan last year and he was doing lifts by this point, but there’s a good chance I’d get arrested for GBH if I tried to lift her. I can barely hold myself up.’ Little wonder he says his partner Stacey Solomon – who’s at home today deals tar ing with their new baby – permanently has her head in her hands. ‘I think this all scares Stacey slightly,’ he admits. ‘But she’s not seen a lot of it because it’s not the sort of thing you can practise at home on the carpet.’

So that’s the headline-grabbing couple, and the potential comedyvalue couple sorted. Who else is on the ice this time around? Some of the more recognisable celebs are Corrie actress Lisa George and Love Island Maura Higgins. Footballer Kevin

‘It’s not a thing you can practise at home on the carpet’ JOE SWASH

Kilbane and magician Ben Hanlin are in the line-up, as are newsreader Lucrezia Millarini and Paralympic sprinter Libby Clegg. Michael Barrymore was due to take part but had to pull out when he broke his wrist in a fall on the ice before Christmas, and he’ll be replaced by former Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya. One contestant who’s already been tipped (at least by those here today) as one to watch is Diversity dancer Perri Kiely. ‘Man, Perri can move,’ says Joe.

Also at our shoot today are model Caprice Bourret, 48, and TV agony aunt Trisha Goddard, 62. Both claim to be flying the flag for older women, but Trisha has the lead on her rival here. ‘There are people on this show less than half my age,’ Caprice points out. ‘But what it shows is that this is a sport you can do at any age. I’m loving it.’ She particularly loves that she’s lost a stone already. ‘I haven’t been in this sort of shape since I had my children.’ She too has twins, now six. She carried one, and a surrogate carried the other. Her very presence is shocking in itself, though. The last reality challenge show she did was The Jump, back in 2017, which has a reputation for putting people in hospital. But with Caprice it almost ended in tragedy. While training she was suffering headaches and the production team made her consult a doctor. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour (benign, mercifully) and had emergency surgery. One would imagine such an ordeal would put her off another TV show, never mind one where she could be dropped on her head. ‘Quite the opposite,’ she says. ‘When something like that happens you appreciate you’ve been given a second chance.’ Physically, she’s had the all-clear to do Dancing On Ice. Will viewers notice that she’s a very different person to the Caprice they’ve seen on other shows? Because she insists she is. ‘It’s an awful feeling knowing your life could be cut short, and it’s completely changed me. In the past I was a bit “meme-me”. Having my kids changed that to a point, but my health issues did even more. I hope I’m kinder now. And when I was younger I worried about what people thought of me. Now I genuinely don’t care if I have cellulite, or fat in weird places. I’m alive.’ Trisha Goddard is also hurling herself into the Dancing On Ice experience with gusto. Once the queen of the TV chatshow, a trailblazer because she was the first black woman to have such a profile, Trisha fell off the radar a little in the UK when her show was dropped. But she’s continued to work in the States after moving there in 2010. She’s an odd one to pop up on this type of contest, though she dispels the idea that her age should stand in the way. ‘I was 37 when I learned to ski. I took up running at 41. I started rollerblading around 40. I’ve always looked to give things a go. And since I love being active, and music and dancing, it makes sense to combine them.’ Trisha could also be one to watch, because she’s not just a physical powerhouse but a mental one too. On the subject of picking yourself up after a fall, this woman is Queen. She’s been through pretty much every situation life can hurl at you. She’s battled drugs, divorce, domestic abuse, depression and cancer. The one thing that’s helped get her through? Exercise. Mentally, she says she’s resilient too. ‘The two can go hand in hand.’ Today, she insists that she’s Marmite – viewers will either love her or hate her. ‘I only do me, though,’ she says. ‘I’m not an actor. I don’t have an album to flog. I’m doing this just to see if I can.’

nJenny Johnston Dancing On Ice starts tomorrow at 6pm on ITV.

Ian with skating partner Matt Evers