Jason Donovan says being on Strictly Come Dancing hasn’t given him an unfair advantage on Dancing On Ice.
The actor and singer is one of twelve celebs on the new series and will take to the ice this Sunday night.
And ahead of his first live skate, Jason says that his Strictly past hasn’t prepared him for the show.
He told The Sun newspaper: “On Strictly you’re on solid ground. When I go onto the ice, I’m working for the entire two hours. Even when you’re standing still.
“The thing about Dancing on Ice is that it’s about movement. Strictly is about standing still sometimes and using other parts of your body.
“There’s a flow to ice skating, which is why it feels like surfing, bike riding, skiing all play a part in this and they didn’t in Strictly.”
Jason added: “The confidence of being a performer does help sometimes and with Strictly, that stage was the most awesome stage I’ve ever been on in my life.
“11 million people, Saturday night TV with Bruce Forsyth. It’s full on and this will be a similar experience apart from it’s Sunday night…”
Jason said he signed up for the show after an “odd” year.
He explained: “I think in any other year I might not have had this much time to concentrate on something and I think if you’re going to do a show like this you need to dedicate your entire time to it.
“I couldn’t be doing a show like this and look a producer in the eye if I was doing theatre show and say look I’m going on the ice for three months! It’s a unique opportunity, it’s a skill, it’s structure in a time when there’s not much structure in our lives.
“It’s good to keep fit, I really like that aspect of it. And my nine-year-old daughter is pretty pumped at the idea of seeing me dance on skates so that’s a big thing!”
And when it comes to the competition element of the series, Jason said: “I would be lying if I didn’t say I’d like to get through to the end. Being the winner doesn’t always make you the most memorable.
“Look at One Direction – they didn’t come first did they? BUT I’m not comparing myself to One Direction. What I mean is you’d be foolish to say you were getting into a show like this if you didn’t want to do your best so wherever that ends up, that’s fine.”
Dancing On Ice will air at 6PM on Sunday nights on ITV from 17 January.
Picture: ITV
