Colin Jackson has joined the line-up for the next series of Dancing on Ice, set to return early next year.
The ITV show sees sporting legend Colin Jackson take to the ice, alongside other celebrities including Lady Leshurr, Denise van Outen, Myleene Klass, Jason Donovan and Emmerdale‘s Joe-Warren Plant.
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Who is Colin Jackson?
Colin Jackson CBE is a former Olympic silver medallist and TV pundit.
He is joining 12 other celebrities taking part in Dancing on Ice 2021.
He says about joining the show: “I can do a little bit of skating. With sport, you’ve certainly got a bit of balance and that will be transferable in this circumstance.
“But how much dancing we’ll do, who knows? We’ll see how the choreography goes.”
What is Colin Jackson famous for?
Colin represented Great Britain and Wales as a sprint and hurdling athlete, for which he won medals.
He won an Olympic silver medal and became a world champion twice, world indoor champion once, went undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and was a two-time Commonwealth champion.
Colin Jackson remains the 60 metres hurdles world record holder, and he held the record of 12.91 seconds for the 110m hurdles for more than a decade.
Is Colin Jackson married?
Colin is single, and came out as gay when he was 50.
Colin reveals he found the attention he received at the time overwhelming.
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He says: “All of a sudden my friends were ringing me from LA, Las Vegas, Canada and it made news all over the world. I was like ‘Wow! OK I didn’t think I was that relevant’.
“I can understand now why an active footballer wouldn’t necessarily want to come out in that sense. If you just want to concentrate on your sport and focus on your teamwork, you shouldn’t have to deal with all of this.”
Colin was forced to come out to his family in 2006 after a former partner sold his story to the tabloid press.
He told a Swedish podcast: “I was quite distraught but it didn’t faze my mum and dad at all.
“I just realised, I’ve got the best parents.”
Can Colin Jackson skate?
Colin has yet to prove himself on the ice, but he can certainly dance.
He participated in the third series of Strictly Come Dancing and was partnered with Erin Boag.
The pair made it through to the final along with Zoe Ball and Ian Waite, and Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova and were runners-up.
Colin won the trophy in the 2006 Christmas special, though, when he was paired with Amy Dowden.
What other TV shows has Colin Jackson been on?
Colin hosted BBC’s Raise Your Game with Colin Jackson after he retired from professional athletics.
He spoke to other sport stars about the importance of learning on the show.
Colin delved into his family history on Who Do You Think You Are?, and co-hosted Sunday Life with Louise Minchin.
He appeared in the BBC1 documentary The Making of Me, as well as ITV show Drive and Celebrity MasterChef. He has also presented various Welsh TV shows.
Did Colin Jackson have an eating disorder?
Colin battled with bulimia and anorexia during training for the Olympics.
He wanted to lose weight for tactical reasons, not for aesthetics.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: “I felt like I was overweight and eating too much.
“I had a job to do – and it was to run as fast as I could and I convinced myself that I had to be lighter to do it.
“Most days, I was on 800-900 calories and training flat out. I would drink a coffee and go for days without a meal.
“On reflection, I would have been a better athlete and a lot happier with myself if I hadn’t suffered with bulimia and anorexia.”
Is Colin Jackson adopted?
Colin was born in Cardiff and brought up in Wales, but his parents came from Jamaica in the 60s.
The athlete delved into his mixed heritage by taking a DNA test on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?
He is the younger brother of actress Suzanne Packer, who played Tess Bateman in the BBC1’s Casualty.
How tall is Colin Jackson?
Colin is 1.82 metres tall, which comes in at around 5 foot nine inches.
Dancing on Ice returns on ITV early next year
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