Love Island winner Kem Cetinay struggled to keep his cool as he took his first public steps into the rink for next year’s series of Dancing On Ice.
After several weeks of training for the show, the reality star appeared to be the most unsteady on his feet, almost slipping over as he joined fellow celebrity hopefuls at London’s Natural History Museum on Tuesday.
Among the line-up who braved the chilly December air in sparkling white outfits ahead of the ITV show’s hotly-anticipated comeback were The Great British Bake Off 2016 winner Candice Brown, Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent and singer Cheryl Baker.
Presenter Phillip Schofield also joined the team, alongside judges Ashley Banjo, Jason Gardiner, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
Hitting the ice a fortnight after announcing his split from Love Island partner Amber Davies, Cetinay joked: “The ice is cold, very cold, not going to lie, but we’re getting there.
“The (training) penguin is always going to be part of my life, it’s never going to go, but I’ve got to learn to walk on my own.”
His partner Alex Murphy politely described his technique on the ice as “a little nerve-racking at times”.
Good Morning Britain weather presenter Alex Beresford said he was already “frozen solid” after broadcasting the morning forecast and joked that he did not want the backing of his ITV colleague Piers Morgan.
“The thing with Piers is that, if he supports you, no-one supports you,” he said. “So what I need is for him to continue hating me and everyone will continue to support me, so that’s my plan of action.”
Meanwhile, Vincent said her training involved a “strict routine” of gym, healthy habits and giving up smoking, while Baker shared a novel tip for combating painful falls on the ice.
She said: “I’ve got an Aga at home and you get these pads that you put onto the stainless steel tops to prevent them from scratching. So I’ve taken them off and I shove them down my knickers.”
Recently engaged Brown and partner Matt Evers joked about the awkward positions and “nice grabs” involved in some of the lifts.
Evers quipped: “We got very personal very quickly and I had to reintroduce myself to her afterwards,” while Brown replied: “It’s fine…nobody except everybody saw.”
Singer Lemar also joined the team, days after replacing Monty Panesar.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here