Which celebrities have been confirmed for the Dancing On Ice 2023 lineup so far?-Evelyn Richards-Entertainment – Metro

Find out who is taking part this year (Picture: ITV)

Get your skates on! ITV has started unveiling the celebrities competing on Dancing On Ice 2023.

Last year saw Regan Gascoigne and partner Karina Marta beat the likes of former Strictly pro Brendan Cole and singer Kimberly Wyatt to lift the coveted trophy.

Struggling to hold back his tears after landing a perfect score, Paul Gascoigne’s dancer son said: ‘I am so overwhelmed, I never thought it was possible.’

But which famous faces will be swapping the red carpet for the iconic ice rink as they battle it out to impress the judges and viewers at home in series 17 of the skating show?

Here are all the celebrities that have been revealed so far…

Which celebrities have been confirmed for Dancing On Ice 2023?

Patsy Palmer

The Soap legend was the first celebrity to be announced (Picture: ITV)

The first contestant was revealed during Monday’s episode of This Morning – and it is no other than soap legend Patsy Palmer.

Patsy, 50, is best known for playing Bianca Jackson in EastEnders, and Natasha in Grange Hill.

‘I can’t believe I’m the first one!’ the told presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby as she appeared on a live link on ITV.

When asked why she was taking part, Patsy replied: ‘Well I didn’t obviously call them up and say, “Can I take part?”. Just out of all the things that came through at that time, this was the one that I had to really think about.

‘Obviously I wanted to challenge myself, get back to work, get out of my comfort zone.

‘I just thought, I’ll just go for it.’

The presenters teased the news earlier in the show with a mannequin in a red wig.

John Fashanu

The second contestant announced was John Fashanu (Picture: ITV/Rex)

The second contestant announced was former footballer John Fashanu.

The former England and Wimbledon football star said: ‘I’m so excited to be a part of Dancing on Ice!

‘I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise to people that I’m very competitive – I am definitely in it to win it.

‘And this may be one of the scariest things I’ve ever signed up for but I couldn’t be more ready for the challenge!’

John, 60, may be best known for his time on the pitch – he also played for the likes of Aston Villa and Millwall – but he is no stranger to the TV airwaves.

He co-hosted the iconic game show Gladiators in the mid-90s and came second in the 2003 series of came second in the second series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu

Ekin-Who? Ekin-Su. (Picture: ITV/Rex)

Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu will be swapping her bikinis for glittery spandex as she is the third celebrity to join the lineup.

The reality star was revealed on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain.

Speaking in a pre-recorded video, Ekin-Su enthused: ‘I’m so excited for the team, I can’t wait to get on the ice and skate. Stay tuned and see you on the ice!’

The 28-year-old isn’t the first Love Island star to have graced the iconic icerink, with Liberty Poole signing up last year and Maura Higgins having competed in 2020.

Earlier in the week, Ekin-Su’s boyfriend and fellow Love Island winner Davide Sanclimenti confirmed that he was offered a slot on the series, but ‘refused’ it as he is ‘too busy’.

Davide told The Sun: ‘They wanted me to do Dancing On Ice this year but I refused this time around.

‘I have so much going on and I can’t commit to something every day and when I do something I want to do it properly. Right now I just can’t focus on something like that, for the moment anyway, but in the future maybe I will.’

Nile Wilson

Nile Wilson won bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic games (Picture: ITV)

From reality stars to Olympians, the fourth celebrity to be announced was Nile Wilson.

The British gymnast – who competed in the Rio 2016 summer Olympics – announced the news on YouTube saying: I’m going to be on ITV’s Dancing on Ice! This is a really cool thing. I’ve certainly not done much ice-skating but I am so excited for the opportunity.

‘I’m so excited to get into that routine and to feel like an athlete again.’

Nile, 26, retired from gymnastics in 2021, citing health problems as the reason for his decision.

He won bronze at Rio 2016 in the men’s horizontal bar, and is also a give-time Commonwealth champion, so he is not stranger to fierce training regimes.

‘Obviously I’m in it to win it, you know what I’m like, I’m very competitive’ he added.

‘In the next couple of months I’m going to be focused and essentially training for it. Once the show starts in the middle of January, I’ll be uploading tons of vlogs so you can see the process and behind-the-scenes.’

Mollie Gallagher

Corrie’s Mollie Gallagher is taking to the ice (Picture: Getty/ITV)

Mollie Gallagher will be swapping the cobbles of Coronation Street for the ice rink after being announced as the fifth celeb to pick up some skates.

Announcing the news on ITV talk show Lorraine, Mollie, 24,  told the host: ‘I’m really excited. I’ve not really felt nervous yet, strangely. But being here today, I am now feeling it a little bit!’

She’s said she’ll be asking for all the help she can get from her Corrie cast mates who have previously done the series, including Sally Dynevor who featured in the competition this year.

‘I’ll be getting all the tips I can because I’m going to need it!’ she admitted.

‘I think I’ve not got the best coordination and everyone that knows me well knows that so when they find out I’m doing this, they’re gonna laugh!’ she added.

Mollie has played Nine Lucas on the show since November 2019, and in 2021 she won a National Television Award for Best Serial Drama Performance.

The Vivienne

Sashay on ice (Picture: ITV)

Swapping the workroom for the ice, Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK star The Vivienne will be looking to make an impression in the competition.

She revealed the news on social media, saying ‘I’m beyond excited to announce that I will be competing in Dancing on Ice in 2023!

‘This is honestly a dream come true and I can’t wait to start training on the ice.

‘To be the first drag artist to take part in one of the big UK reality competition shows is truly an honour.

‘I think it’s a big step forward for queer representation on TV.’

The Welsh drag queen, 30, was the first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019, after being appointed the first UK RuPaul’s Drag Race ambassador in 2015.

She has gone to feature in the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, and has had her own BBC Three television series, The Vivienne Takes on Hollywood.

Joey Essex

The Only Way Is Essex star became the seventh contestant to join the series (Picture: Rex/ITV )

Joey Essex, 32, is best know for appearing on the reality series The Only Way Is Essex, and he will be hoping the only way is up as he takes on the challenge of Dancing On Ice.

Announcing the news on This Morning, Joey told hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary that he was looking forward to a more ‘serious’ challenge.

‘I’m doing it for me,’ Joey said, adding he’ll worry about what the judges think ‘once the skate is over.’

‘I want to impress the judges but I want to impress myself. I’m going to put all my effort into this,’ he continued.

He also joked that he actually wants the Dancing On Ice curse after being ‘super single’, before saying: ‘I want to fall in love with the ice.’

He is no stranger to celebrity competitions and specials, having featured on the likes of  Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, and the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

Another five contestants are expected to be revealed for the series.

Dancing On Ice returns to ITV in 2023.

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