Gareth Gates
Age: 23
Occupation: Singer
Skating Partner: Maria Filippov
Celebrity Supporters: Emma Bunton, Will Young
What to expect: Legions of female fans to swoon when Gareth hits the ice.
"I’ve always been a hard worker and I always like to put 100% in. I’m a very competitive person and I thrive under pressure, so we’ll see what happens.” He first hit our screens in Pop Idol in 2002 at the tender age of 17 but with no real previous experience on the ice, Gareth has found the skating tough. “I’m really enjoying it which is the main thing, but it’s a lot harder than I thought especially as I’ve never really skated before. I’ve actually impressed myself with how far I’ve come. "From not being able to do anything now I can sort of hold my own and actually dance with someone else." And having watched some of the other competitors, Gareth reckons Hollyoaks hottie Chris Fountain is the favourite, although he’s determined to focus on his own performance, too. “Once the show starts, that’s when you start to think this is a real competition. My game plan so far is just to focus on me and what I can do and getting the best out of me and the best out of the routines. "We’re all on the same level, although Chris is amazing, but I don’t want to start comparing myself.” But Gareth’s biggest thrill has been working with Torvill and Dean, and he is still blown away by the ice legends’ talent. “When they demonstrated my first routine to music it was amazing. It really got me, and I got quite emotional. I almost started to fill up and was like ‘pull yourself together… idiot…’” Will Gareth get a chance to dance the Bolero himself? Stay tuned to find out.
THE GIRLS
ONE = Sarah Greene
Age: 47
Profession: TV presenter and actress
Skating partner: Fred Palascak
Celebrity supporters: Lesley Joseph, John Scott, Myleene Klass, Mike Smith
What to expect: An appearance from her Going Live sidekick, Gordon the Gopher? “I am so looking forward to the costumes. As a little girl I always wanted to wear these sorts of sparkly dresses and I’ve had to wait rather a long time to wear them. That’s just one side of it. Most of all I’m looking forward to making my family proud. “My skating is comical but there has to be a bit of comedy in everything, a bit of lightness. I am becoming braver. My problem has been fear and I’m learning to be not as scared.” Sarah also has a very special bond with Torvill and Dean, having been charged with presenting them with their gold Blue Peter badges after their win at the 1984 Olympics. “It was right at the very beginning of my television career and I was lucky enough to be the person that had to go to Heathrow airport and meet them. I gave them each their gold Blue Peter badge. When I saw Jane and Chris for the first time after all those years they were sweet enough to pretend that they remembered it.” While she’s trying to remain positive, Sarah does have a few concerns - and top of her list is acid tongued Jason Gardiner. “I’m dreading the witty and very insightful comments of Jason Gardiner. "This is the thing about him - we may not like the way he says things but usually the things he says are true so I'm really dreading that."
TWO = Aggie MacKenzie
Age: 52
Occupation: TV presenter
Skating partner: Sergey Malyshev ~NEW~
Celebrity supporters: Kim Woodburn and Anneka Rice
What to expect: Look out for Aggie spinning round the rink in a pair of Marigolds. But expect a few dirty tricks from the undisputed queen of clean.
Aggie confesses that the more time she spends on ice, the less confident she gets. However, her new hobby does have one benefit: enabling her to scoff as much chocolate as she likes. “The advantage is that if I want a Kit-Kat or a Mars Bar or a Twirl or a Twix, I just shovel it down. It’s fantastic, no problem with that now. I am so hungry, my appetite’s so sharp and it’s great.” As well as the insatiable appetite, Aggie is also thrilled that her body is already beginning to tone up with the extra exercise. “I can feel the benefits already. My arms – my bingo wings – were really horrendous, they were absolutely the pits and they’ve been all sort of sucked in, it’s amazing. And I can feel my waist is much trimmer so there are benefits definitely.” On the down side, all that rink practice meant Aggie had to cut down on sleep, social life and drinking. “I will not be drunk on the ice,” she jokes. “If you have a drink you just can’t work 14 hour days. I’ve had to give up sleep as well. I’ve had to go to bed every night at half past 10 so my social life is out the window.” No more late-night chats with Kim at their ultra-clean local, then…
THREE = Suzanne Shaw
Age: 26
Occupation: TV Personality
Skating partner: Matt Evers
Celebrity Supporters: Christopher Biggins and Myleene Klass
What to expect: Gorgeous costumes and graceful moves. Suzanne is hotly tipped as the best female skater.
TV personality and singer Suzanne Shaw was a huge fan of Dancing On Ice last year and reckons she’s a bit of a natural on the ice herself. “I’m loving every second of ice skating. I absolutely love it. I want to do it for the rest of my life. I now want to be an ice skater.” The star also thinks she’s got the best partner and is looking forward to perfecting some dangerous and daring moves with Matt who’s known for the infamous ‘head banger’. “We’ve not tried the head banger yet but we are working on something called ‘the death spiral.’ When Matt first said, ‘we’re going to try the death spiral’ today,’ I was like ‘what?’ But I’m making that my signature move at the moment.” And Suzanne is also excited about her young son Corey watching her on the ice. “I can’t wait for my son to come down and see me do it because he’s started ice skating lessons. He’s in love with ice skating.” As for who her rivals might be, Suzanne is playing it very cool: ' know it sounds like a real cliché, but of course I’d love to win the show, everybody would. But everyone is going to bring something different to the skating rink and it’s hard to tell who will be my main rival." Let’s wait and see how the competition hots up...
FOUR = Linda Lusardi
Age: 49
Profession: Emmerdale star and former Page 3 favourite
Skating partner: Dan Whiston
Celebrity supporters: The cast of Emmerdale, as well as former Dancing On Ice contestant Emily Symons.
What to expect: A touch of glamour
Emmerdale actress Linda Lusardi is ecstatic to be in Dancing On Ice after a fall nearly had her out of the competition before it had even begun. “I was in training, stepping backwards on the ice when I landed on my ankle, fracturing a bone,” she explains. “Luckily it was very minor and it’s healed very well. It was a couple of months ago now and everything is stable which is great. I’ve still got the L-plates on for sure but I feel much more confident". A big fan of the show, Linda has also been getting some tips from Emmerdale colleague and former Dancing on Ice contestant Emily Symons, and confesses that she is delighted to have bagged Dan as her own skating partner. “I really hoped I’d get Dan because I’ve been to watch the show as a spectator over the last couple of years. I knew it wasn’t up to me to make that choice, so when he walked on to the ice I was absolutely thrilled and he’s become a really good friend. "He’s been staying over at my house and Sam, my husband, and I had nights out with him so now I feel like I’ve known him all my life.” And her husband and two children are behind her all the way, who, together with the Emmerdale cast, will be forming a Linda fan club from the sidelines each week. “My kids, Lucy aged 11 and eight-year-old Jack just can’t wait to come. They’re already making banners for the show. "I expect David Seaman will come along and see me as well because I supported him when he was in it and he keeps phoning to see how I'm getting on." Good luck Linda.