A new season ofDancing on Ice is only hours away, with 12 new celebrity contestants set to take part in ITV’s hit figure skating competition.
The series 16 premiere will mark Holly Willoughby’s return to TV after a three-month hiatus; the former This Morning presenter quit the breakfast show last October, in the wake of co-host Phillip Schofield’s departure in May.
Willoughby, 42, will be joined by Stephen Mulhern, the Deal or No Deal presenter, who replaced Schofield when he quit the network after admitting an “unwise but not illegal affair” with a younger male colleague.
A star-studded lineup has been confirmed for season 16, which begins on Sunday 14 June, which includes musicians, actors, and winter Olympic stars.
The Dancing on Ice split premiere will see six celebrities take to the ice for the first live show: S Club 7 star Hannah Spearritt, former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas, Emmerdale star Roxy Shahidi, Love Island’s Amber Davies, former boxer Ricky Hatton, and Olympian Greg Rutherford.
Get to know all the participants vying for the Dancing on Ice trophy this year:
Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards
The former ski jumper, 60, was not originally scheduled to compete on the programme but stepped in as Gogglebox star Stephen Lustig-Webb’s replacement after an injury forced him to withdraw from the show.
Edwards has also had his American skating partner Tippy Packard replaced by figure skater Vicky Ogden ahead of the series due to injury.
The Olympian, whose real name is Michael Edwards, is known for being a daredevil but said he does not “want to hurt” himself when he makes his debut on the show.
Edwards rose to fame in 1988 when he became the first British ski jumper to compete at the Winter Olympics since 1928.
His journey, where he finished last in both the 70m and 90m events, was made into the 2016 film Eddie The Eagle,starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman.
Ricky Hatton
The former world champion boxer, 45, was the first celebrity confirmed for Dancing on Ice. He is partnered with Cirque du Soleil ice show performer Robin Johnstone.
Hatton, who has a professional record of 45-3, officially retired from boxing in November 2012 before he returned to the ring for an exhibition match against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022.
The athlete said he is using the opportunity to “overcome some fears” and explained that he is now in the right place to compete since “everything’s moving forward and positive in my life” following issues with depression and alcohol.
Hatton has gone for a Rocky movie reference with his partnerJohnstone, as the duo opted to skate to Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now” for their first routine.
Hannah Spearritt
The S Club 7 singer, 42, has also acted in EastEnders, Primeval, and Death In Paradise. She is partnered with professional skater and Cirque du Soleil ice show performer Andy Buchanan for this year’s competition.
She said her “health journey” of being in recovery from an autoimmune condition was the reason for joining the skating show.
Spearritt did not tour with what is now called S Club for the 25th anniversary of the 1990s pop group, along with the other members last year, following the death of fellow singer Paul Cattermole in April.
On Sunday’s episode, Spearritt and Buchanan will skate to Ariana Grande’s “Break Free”.
Claire Sweeney
The 52-year-old actress, who joined ITV soap Coronation Street last year as Cassie Plummer, is partnered with American model and figure skater Colin Grafton.
She has credits in TV shows such as Brookside, Doctors, Benidorm, and Holby City. Sweeney has also starred in productions that include 9 To 5 The Musical in 2022 and the 2011 UK tour of Legally Blonde.
Sweeney previously told Prima magazine that she joined the show to challenge herself while dealing with “little vulnerabilities and anxieties with menopause”.
Amber Davies
After finding fame and winning ITV’s Love Island in 2017, Davies has had a successful career as an actor on the West End.
Her first break was in 9 To 5 The Musical, after which Davies joined the third season of CBBC’s Almost Never alongside The Pussycat Dolls star Kimberly Wyatt and JLS singer-songwriter Aston Merrygold.
The Welsh-born former reality TV star also joined the cast of Back To The Future The Musical, in which she portrayed the character of Lorraine Baines, mother of protagonist Marty McFly. She also appeared in a Pretty Woman musical tour as protagonist Vivian Ward.
The 27-year-old is partnered with Simon Senecal on the latest instalment of Dancing on Ice. They will perform to “Hold On To Now” by Kylie Minogue.
Greg Rutherford
The former Olympian, 37, previously trained to be part of Great Britain’s bobsleigh team for the Beijing games in 2022, but ultimately did not make the cut.
Prior to that, Rutherford won Olympic long jump gold on Super Saturday at the London Games almost eight years ago. He was one of three Team GB members to win a gold medal that day in the space of 44 minutes.
Rutherford, who was made an MBE in 2013, is partnered with Canadian skater Vanessa James. He said he took to training for the show quite easily because he had “skated a little bit as a child”.
“It didn’t feel completely unfamiliar to me,” Rutherford told RadioTimes. “I couldn’t do a lot of things on the ice but you develop that quite quickly. I think for me, I wasn’t as cautious as others who have never been on the ice before.”
Rutherford and James are going to skate to Queen’s “Don‘t Stop Me Now” for their first performance.
Ryan Thomas
The former Celebrity Big Brother champion, 39, is best known for playing Jason Grimshaw on Coronation Street between 2000 and 2016.
In 2018, he played Rafael Humphreys in Australian soap opera Neighbours. His brother, Adam Thomas, appeared on Strictly Come Dancing last year.
“What I’ve learned [from Adam] is persistence,” Thomas said. “Putting yourself out of your comfort zone isn’t necessarily a comfortable place to be but he’s been nothing but positive about his experience on Strictly.”
Thomas and partner, Amani Fancy, wil kicking things off with a skating routine set to Kings of Leon‘s “Sex On Fire”.
Ricky Norwood
The former EastEnders actor, 40, was runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016.
He played Arthur “Fatboy” Chubb, for which he won an Inside Soap Award, on the BBC One show until December 2015 when his character was killed off in a Christmas storyline after five years on the show.
Norwood, who is partnered with German skater Annette Dytrt, has also appeared in Netflix romantic-comedy sequels:The Princess Switch: Switched Again and The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star.
Miles Nazaire
The Made In Chelsea star, 28, is partnered with German ice dancer Vanessa Bauer, who finished in second place last year together with reality star Joey Essex.
As well as appearing on reality shows, such as Celebrity Ex On The Beach and Celebs Go Dating, Nazaire hosts a podcast called Playtime with his Made in Chelsea co-star Charlie Radnedge.
Lou Sanders
The 38-year-old comedian is partnered with American skater Brendyn Hatfield.
Sanders has appeared on shows including,The Russell Howard Hour, Would I Lie To You?, The Late Late Show With James Corden, Richard Osman’s House of Games, Live At The Apollo, and QI.
Last year, she published her memoir,What’s That Lady Doing; False Starts And Happy Endings.
Roxy Shahidi
The 40-year-old actor, who is best known as Leyla Harding in the ITV soap Emmerdale, is partnered with French ice dancer Sylvain Longchambon.
Shahidi revealed that she had been scheduled to compete on Dancing On Ice once before, but missed out due to pregnancy.
Days before the show’s premiere on Sunday (14 January), during which she and Longchambon will perform to “You Don’t Own Me” by Say Grace, Shahidi revealed she had suffered an agonising injury during training.
“I dislocated my rib and I felt very sorry for myself. I didn’t even know that was a thing,” she told The Sun. “It was hard to breathe. If I coughed or sneezed, it was agony. Absolute spasms.”
Nonetheless, Shahidi remains “really excited” about her debut, especially with her daughter cheering her on from the audience.
Adele Roberts
The 44-year-old former BBC Radio 1 presenter is partnered with Scottish ice dancer Mark Hanretty.
In October 2021, Roberts announced that she was undergoing treatment for bowel cancer. In June 2022, she delighted fans with the news that she is cancer-free.
Roberts joined the BBC in 2012 as part of the Radio 1 Xtra team, before moving to Radio 1 in 2015 to host the Early Breakfast Show.
In June 2023, BBC said she had decided to quit after “eight incredible years” at the station.
Additional reporting on wires
