Dancing On Ice's Richard Blackwood reveals his secret skating past ahead of launch
He has a slight advantage!
Author: Emma DoddsPublished 3rd Jan 2019 Last updated 4th Jan 2019
Dancing On Ice launches this Sunday 6th January, and fans of the show cannot wait to see 12 new celebrities take to the ice for this series. Last year's Dancing On Ice was a revamp of the show after a four-year hiatus, and former choreographers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean returned to the show as judges.
They will once again take to their seats on the judging panel with Jason Gardiner and Ashley Banjo, and presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will be reunited after Holly's stint in the I'm A Celebrity! jungle late last year.
All 12 celebrities have been working hard ahead of the new series this Sunday, but it turns out that one of them may not have had to work quite as hard to get the hang of skating.
Former EastEnders actor Richard Blackwood appeared in an interview on Good Morning Britain earlier today, and revealed that he'd actually spent much of his childhood on the ice.
The 46-year-old explained, "My mum went to live in Sweden when I was three or four years old. I used to go to school there and I would ski to school and ice-skate to school. I then used to skate every Wednesday and Friday at Streatham ice-rink, that was like the local hangout."
Swipe through to see which celebrities are taking part in Dancing On Ice 2019...
Dancing On Ice's Richard Blackwood reveals his secret skating past ahead of launch
2 of 13
Wes Nelson
Love Island's Wes Nelson will be joining the line-up for Dancing On Ice 2019. Speaking about the show Wes said, "Gemma Collins is going to wipe the floor with me, I'm super intimidated. I've been looking at the line up thinking 'oh my gosh!' Of course you'll be seeing my hips on the ice and the hips don't lie!"
Swipe through to see which celebrities are taking part in Dancing On Ice 2019...
Gemma Collins
Gemma Collins was one of the first celebrity skaters to be confirmed for a brand new series of Dancing on Ice 2019.
Richard Blackwood
Richard Blackwood was announced along with Gemma Collins as one of the first celebrities to be taking part in Dancing On Ice 2019.
James Jordan
Ballroom dancer James Jordan was the third celebrity to be announced. Speaking about the show he said, "I can dance but I'm a lot older than I used to be. People are going to probably say I've got an unfair advantage but when I got on the ice I actually shocked myself how bad I was. I want to be able to impress Torvill and Dean more than anyone else, but I'm a lot worse than I thought I'd be."
Brian McFadden
Former Westlife singer Brian McFadden was the fourth celebrity to be announced. When asked about his involvement he said, "I'm very excited. I've already been practising out the back garden on my rollerblades and my mum says I'm a one man Torvill and Dean."
Saira Khan
TV presenter Saira Khan appeared on The Apprentice back in 2005. She is now a panellist on Loose Women. Saira is the fifth celebrity to be announced.
Ryan Sidebottom
International cricketer Ryan Sidebottom is the sixth celebrity to join the line-up for Dancing On Ice 2019.
Melody Thornton
Former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton will be taking to the ice next year. The singer said, "I guess the cat's out of the bag. I'm so excited, I can't wait to see you and I can't wait to do some skating for you!"
Mark Little
Mark Little, former Neighbours star (Joe Mangel) and comedian has been announced as the eighth celebrity to take part in Dancing On Ice.
Jane Danson
Coronation Street actress Jane Danson, known for playing Leanne Battersby will be hoping for the same success as her co-star Brooke Vincent who took part last year.
Saara Aalto
Saara Aalto appeared on The X Factor in 2016, now she is hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year's winner, who was The X Factor's Jake Quickenden.
Didi Conn
Best known for playing the role of Frenchie in the iconic film Grease, Didi Conn will be taking to the ice rink for Dancing On Ice 2019.
Wes Nelson
Love Island's Wes Nelson will be joining the line-up for Dancing On Ice 2019. Speaking about the show Wes said, "Gemma Collins is going to wipe the floor with me, I'm super intimidated. I've been looking at the line up thinking 'oh my gosh!' Of course you'll be seeing my hips on the ice and the hips don't lie!"
Swipe through to see which celebrities are taking part in Dancing On Ice 2019...
Gemma Collins
Gemma Collins was one of the first celebrity skaters to be confirmed for a brand new series of Dancing on Ice 2019.
Richard Blackwood
Richard Blackwood was announced along with Gemma Collins as one of the first celebrities to be taking part in Dancing On Ice 2019.
James Jordan
Ballroom dancer James Jordan was the third celebrity to be announced. Speaking about the show he said, "I can dance but I'm a lot older than I used to be. People are going to probably say I've got an unfair advantage but when I got on the ice I actually shocked myself how bad I was. I want to be able to impress Torvill and Dean more than anyone else, but I'm a lot worse than I thought I'd be."
Brian McFadden
Former Westlife singer Brian McFadden was the fourth celebrity to be announced. When asked about his involvement he said, "I'm very excited. I've already been practising out the back garden on my rollerblades and my mum says I'm a one man Torvill and Dean."
Saira Khan
TV presenter Saira Khan appeared on The Apprentice back in 2005. She is now a panellist on Loose Women. Saira is the fifth celebrity to be announced.
Ryan Sidebottom
International cricketer Ryan Sidebottom is the sixth celebrity to join the line-up for Dancing On Ice 2019.
Melody Thornton
Former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton will be taking to the ice next year. The singer said, "I guess the cat's out of the bag. I'm so excited, I can't wait to see you and I can't wait to do some skating for you!"
Mark Little
Mark Little, former Neighbours star (Joe Mangel) and comedian has been announced as the eighth celebrity to take part in Dancing On Ice.
Jane Danson
Coronation Street actress Jane Danson, known for playing Leanne Battersby will be hoping for the same success as her co-star Brooke Vincent who took part last year.
Saara Aalto
Saara Aalto appeared on The X Factor in 2016, now she is hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year's winner, who was The X Factor's Jake Quickenden.
Didi Conn
Best known for playing the role of Frenchie in the iconic film Grease, Didi Conn will be taking to the ice rink for Dancing On Ice 2019.
Wes Nelson
Love Island's Wes Nelson will be joining the line-up for Dancing On Ice 2019. Speaking about the show Wes said, "Gemma Collins is going to wipe the floor with me, I'm super intimidated. I've been looking at the line up thinking 'oh my gosh!' Of course you'll be seeing my hips on the ice and the hips don't lie!"
Despite his background in skating, Richard - who's paired with Carlotta Edwards - added that he's still being put through his paces in training, "It's very, very gruelling. Even if you can skate, the discipline that these guys put you through, I've got a lot of respect for them."
But although Richard might be one of the more experienced skaters on the show, he confessed that Gemma Collins was one to watch, "She can skate. Gemma will scare a lot of people but she'll go out there and show you she's about that life."
He added that James Jordan, former Strictly Come Dancing professional, was also looking pretty dangerous, "James is a secret one, he acts like he can't skate, but he was pulling off some spins yesterday that were scaring us."
Dancing On Ice launches this Sunday 6th January on ITV1 at 6pm.
NOW WATCH: Little Mix open up about being role models
Tune into Northern Ireland’s number 1 for music, Cool FM on 97.4FM, online, on our Rayo app, your DAB radio, or say ‘Play Cool FM’ on your Smart Speaker. We play you the biggest hits from the world’s hottest artists, from Pete Snodden in the morning to the NI Hit 40.
