Hopes are high for the new series of Dancing on Ice when it returns to our screens on January 7th.
And new judges – but returning faces – Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have set their sights as high as possible.
At the launch event for the new series, the duo were asked whether the ITV show will be able to match Strictly’s huge success in the ratings stakes.
And Jayne told The Sun: “I hope so. There’s a lot of buzz and energy, so hopefully the quality will draw people in.”
This series will see Jayne and Chris be able to let rip into contestants for the first time, as they take their places on the judging panel rather than in a mentor role.
And Jayne says the jury is still out on whether the quality of the celebs’ skating will match up to seasons gone by.
She said: “They still need to do some work! But it’s always like this at the beginning, that’s part of the show – to see people improve at this level, from some more shaky than others, let’s see how they can work and improve.”
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Chris responded to a question about what sort of judge he’s hoping to be by saying: “We’re going to be honest. We’ve got the skating credentials, so I think people at home will be expecting us to articulate what we think about the skating part of it.
“At the end of the day it’s how they present themselves, how the number goes, how the choreography is, so all of that combined, people can sometimes disguise the skating.”
Another comparison often made with Strictly is that on the BBC hit, sometimes the winner isn’t necessarily the best dancer – which doesn’t tend to happen with DOI.
Chris agreed, saying: “The skating always shines, yeah.”
Jayne expanded, remarking: “Sometimes as you do with Strictly, you lose someone that shouldn’t have gone – people think they’re fine and don’t vote for them, when they do need the votes.
“But in the end [on Dancing on Ice], your finalists are the better skaters.
Chris added: “But for the skaters, if I was to say ‘Name one moment you remember from Dancing on Ice,’ what would you say? Todd Carty, of course! He wasn’t the best skater, was he?”
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Very good point – we all remember Todd’s spectacular flying exit from the ice!
We’d love to see something just as memorable this time around…