The Dancing on Ice professionals are lacing up their skates as they take to the ice with their pro partners for the 2022 series.
Angela Egan, who won the show with Sonny Jay last year, is back to defend her crown.
However, she’s partnered with Happy Mondays star Bez, who has admitted: “I’d be surprised if I won it because at the moment I’m Bambi on ice.
“I can’t see how I could possibly win it but I’d love to.”
Dancing on Ice professionals: Who is Angela Egan?
Scottish ice dancer Angela joined the show in series 13 in 2021.
And, just months after signing up, she won the show with her celebrity partner Sonny.
This made Angela one of just four professionals to win their first series.
Read more: ITV offers first look at Dancing on Ice 2022 judging panel
However, it sounds as though Angela has her work cut out with Bez this year.
Asked if he has any fear, Bez said: “Not really. I love a bit of danger! And with the right coaching and training – fingers crossed.”
However, luckily for Angela he also admitted he’d never want to put “anyone at risk” by doing lifts he wasn’t ready for.
“I’ll just have to see how I progres with training and if I get good enough I’ll give it a go.
“I never want to put anyone else at risk. It would be great to do if I get good enough but at the moment I just can’t see it,” he said.
What has Angela said about partnering with Bez on Dancing on Ice?
Angela seemed pleased as punch to be teamed with the Happy Mondays legend.
And it seems the pair are having lots of fun together.
Read more: Dancing on Ice stars Kevin Kilbane and Brianne Delcourt expecting second baby
She said: “Bez is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met and every session is full of laughs – long may it continue!”
Angela Egan on ‘tough’ separation from boyfriend
Angela isn’t very forthcoming when it come to her social media accounts, with her Instagram pretty much only active during the run of Dancing on Ice.
However, she has previously spoken about a boyfriend – American skater Cody Rowekamp.
From the sounds of a Valentine’s Day post she made back in 2021, the pair spend a lot of time apart.
Sharing pictures of them together, Angela said: “Happy Valentine’s Day to my favourite weirdo!!
Maybe one year we will manage to be on the same continent for this!!!”
She also revealed that he was there for her first skate with Sonny last year, however, he went back to the States after that – something Angela found tough.
Angela said at the time: “It’ll be tough. You get a really high adrenaline rush after a show and I don’t really have anyone to celebrate it with.
“I’m not sure when he’ll be back and my parents can’t come down. It’s just the world we live in.”
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What did Angela do before Dancing on Ice?
Angela was working for Amazon stacking shelves when the Dancing on Ice audition came along.
She’d previously been part of the Disney on Ice cast for eight years, but lost her job when the show was cancelled at the start of the pandemic.
She previously said: “I was on tour with Disney on Ice when coronavirus hit and I came home and my skating partner, my boyfriend who is American, went back to the States thinking we’d only be separated for a week or two tops but it was seven months.”
She added: “When I was home, in Greenock everything was shut, there were no skating shows, so I got a job in Amazon packing the shelves to keep me going, to get me out of the house and so I wasn’t dipping into my savings.”
How do Holly and Phil think they’ll get on?
Phillip Schofield said he’s keen to wrap Bez up in “bubble wrap”.
“I’ve just watched a video of Bez on his second day fall over backwards so hard that his helmet flew off. Dancing On Ice is really dangerous.
“They really all risk everything for it. We’ve seen in the past that people do get hurt and of course you want to avoid that at all cost. I think we will be wrapping Bez up in bubble wrap that’s for sure,” he said.
Holly, however, admitted Bez is the celebrity she’s looking forward to seeing skate “the most”.
She said: “I think there is going to be some fun on the ice, Bez isn’t a famous dancer but a dancer in a different variety. Personally he’s the one I’m looking forward to the most.”
The man himself admitted he can’t wait to hit the ice – although not literally – with Angela.
“I’m really looking forward to actually dancing with a partner on ice. Not actually something I ever imagined doing in my life,” he said.
Dancing on Ice is on Sunday (January 16) at 6.30pm n ITV.
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