Newly single Kem Cetinay gets his skates on for Dancing On Ice and tells us about getting relationship advice from Liam Payne
The Love Island champ chats height, heartbreak and having Liam Payne on speed dial with Deborah Fraser
It’s weird seeing Kem Cetinay anything other than topless, tanned and hanging out by a pool in a tiny pair of swimming shorts. But it’s even weirder seeing him quivering because he’s having to hold a squat position inside a chest freezer – tightly packed in by packets of frozen fish fingers and peas – in a small, sequinned shirt for our shoot.
It’s been a whirlwind six months since the 21-year-old barber from Essex was crowned winner of Love Island alongside then-girlfriend Amber Davies, pocketing £50k and announcing, “I’ve found my future wife” – and a lot has changed. Despite their bombshell break-up last month (more on that later), Kem is ridiculously perky as he bounces around our shoot, fiddling with the fake snow plastered all over his face.
As soon as Love Island finished, he shunned the boozy nights out and money-spinning nightclub appearances, and instead became an actual rap star with tune Little Bit Leave It alongside Love Island best pal Chris Hughes. He signed with a swanky celebrity agency and has stars tripping over themselves to hang out with him – whether it’s Liam Payne giving him relationship advice (yes, really), Rylan Clark-neal recommending fortune tellers, or playing it cool at a family BBQ with his pin-up Michelle Keegan. Now, he’s ready to hit the ice on ITV’S
Dancing On Ice (hence the freezer), which returns to our screens this weekend. But if you think he looks confident, well… Are you having sleepless nights about falling over on live TV? My mum keeps hearing these thuds at about 4am, so comes into my room and I’m up and
doing stretches and lunges in my sleep. It’s so weird, but I’m constantly thinking about skating. And I’m worried about the lifts. All the other blokes are way over six foot, but when I pick up Alex, my professional skating partner, she’s still in front of my face. I’m only 5ft 10. Google says you’re 5ft 8… OK, yeah, I am. But I’m 5ft 10 deep down. I’m hoping this year we can mix it up and Alex will be lifting me, too. Kanye West is also 5ft 8. He’s married to Kim Kardashian, one of the hottest ladies on the planet, and you’re both music stars… I know! Me and Kanye have actually got a lot in common. Chris and I are on a Now That’s What I Call Music CD, so we’ve made it. I’m not selfconscious about my height, I’ve just always wanted to be taller. But it’s never stopped me with girls. Are you getting more female attention now you’re single? I haven’t really been out since me and Amber split up, and it ended very amicably so, out of respect for her, I don’t want to be going out partying and getting with girls. I was really upset, and I’m not a big drinker or clubbing person anyway. We thought you’d be together forever – have you been in touch since you split? It’s not a good idea to be on the phone all the time after you’ve broken up, as you both need closure. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but we’re having some space right now. Some people prefer having a toxic break up and cutting ties, but I’ll always care for Amber. DOI has had its share of romances – are you open to that? No, I’m still in love with Amber as we’ve only just split. And, anyway, Alex my partner is ten years older than me and has a boyfriend! Have you noticed any blossoming romances between anyone else? Phillip Schofield reckons he’s picked up on two potential couples, but I’ve only spotted one. It’s a male celeb and his skating partner. That’s all I’m saying. Ant and Dec are apparently big fans of yours… That was mental. I met Dec and he was saying that me and Chris remind him and Ant of them when they were younger. He gave me loads of great advice. I wish we could be a trio and I’d be their little sidekick. And you posted a picture of you meeting Liam Payne backstage at a gig. What did you talk about? I couldn’t believe it when he called me over. I try to play it cool in front of celebs, but I get really giddy and bear hug them, and then ask a million questions and see if they want to go for lunch with me. We swapped numbers and said we’d go for lunch, and after I split from Amber, he was one of the first people to text and call me and give loads of advice. What? He texts me all the time and said if you need a chat or want to go out, I’ll be here for you. He’s the nicest bloke. He was giving me advice, like, “If anyone has been through it and been in the public eye, it’s me, and I know. Whereas your mum and dad are going to give you advice, but they don’t really understand what it’s like.” He knows how hard it is when everyone feels like they know your relationship. I’ve only been in the public eye for three or four months, but he knows that it’s hard to deal with the pressure. But also we just got on really well.
‘i only just took the posters of Michelle Keegan off my walls’
Have you got more plans to meet up? Yeah, but he’s doing loads of shows in America at the moment. I’m always messaging him and he’s saying, “It’s four in the morning” and I’m saying, “Nah, it’s not, mate – it’s midday!” You looked very happy when you were at Mark wright and Michelle Keegan’s BBQ in the summer… I only took down my bedroom wall posters of Michelle a couple of years ago, so I was lapping it up. I met Mark briefly when I came out of the Love Island villa and he invited me over for a family BBQ. They were so lovely. Are you close with the other DOI contestants? We have a Whatsapp group, but I’m doing everyone’s head in as I’m sending so many selfies and voice notes. They all said they’ve muted me and Jake Quickenden, so we started our own chat. To be fair, it’s a mixed bunch – you’ve got Lemar [from 2002’s talent show Fame
Academy] and Anthony Cotton from Coronation Street in there, and Jake is really naughty as he sends loads of rude jokes to the group. Candice [Brown, 2016’s
Bake Off winner] is wicked as she’s made us a Victoria sponge, and chocolate brownies. You said you were awful at skating as you’re “too used to walking” – has it got any easier? I was really demoralised at first as the other celebs picked it up really fast. I still can’t even touch my toes. But I’ve become a bit obsessive about it. I had a month’s training before I met Alex and was supposed to be able to skate backwards and do turns, so when she first came to training, she had her head in her hands when she saw I could hardly stand up. But I’m getting better, and I’m putting the Kem touch on my routines. what’s the Kem touch? It’s looking like you’re free styling in the club when everyone else is doing graceful routines – I do a bit of the Robot, a bit of Mexican Wave. I just love dancing. Me and Ashley [Banjo, a judge on DOI] have been having jokes about it. When I was 15, I really wanted to be a dancer even though I was rubbish, so my mum somehow wangled me into his Diversity dance school. I only went for two weeks as I was so embarrassed that I was the worst person in the bottom class, but I always tell people I used to be in Diversity. Do you miss just being a barber? All the time, because that’s my passion. I drove past a barbers the other day and was just staring through the window. I used to compete in shows, and loved having all my clients lined up, and we’d have some beers in the salon on a Saturday. which celebrities have the best and worst hair? The best is Bradley Cooper, his hair is amazing. The worst is Simon Cowell, but I do love him. How weird is this? Rylan gave me the number for his fortune teller, so I went a few weeks ago… Stop! You and rylan have the same fortune teller? Yeah, I met Rylan and we went out a few times and got on really well and we were texting about this great fortune teller he goes to, so I went a couple of weeks ago. She told me all this stuff that was going to happen with my parents and it did – there’s even a framed photo in my house of my grandad that always tilts to the left, and she knew about that. And the last thing she kept saying was, “It’s weird, but I keep seeing that you’re going to be really good friends with Simon Cowell.” Everything else has come true, so I’m just waiting for my meeting with Simon now…