Brendan Cole has hit back at ‘fix’ claims as he prepares for the Dancing On Ice final.
The former Strictly Come Dancing professional is one of three famous faces left in this year’s competition.
On Sunday night he’ll face singer and dancer Regan Gascoigne and Pussycat Doll singer Kimberly Wyatt in the race for the 2022 title.
However some viewers have complained about Brendan and other contestants’ dance background, suggesting it’s given them an unfair advantage over competitors.
In response, Brendan argued having dancers compete made the show better for viewers.
“I think the fact we have a dance background has only improved things on the ice. The stuff we’ve been able to do because of that background has been special,” he told The Sun newspaper.
Brendan continued: “People are always going to complain, we’ll never change their minds. All we can do is our best on the ice.
“There’s something cool about the fact we’re all here, we’ve all got dance backgrounds so we’ve got that performance element. You’re not worried about somebody not performing — you know all of us will be on it.”
This weekend the final three will all perform both a showcase skate and reprise their favourite skate from the series.
Brendan will start out with his showcase skate to Carmen Medley by George Bizet before returning to his routine to Falling by Harry Styles from Week 7.
The ex Strictly star is tipped to do well but insists he’s only competitive with himself.
Saying “it doesn’t matter” if he wins or loses, Brendan explained: “I came on this show hoping to prove to people that Strictly only showed one side of me. They pushed that narrative for 15 series and it was tiring — that’s actually not me.
“I muck around a lot, and that wasn’t shown. But it is being shown on Dancing On Ice.”
The Dancing On Ice final airs Sunday night at 7PM on ITV.
Other stars who took part in the latest season are reality star Liberty Poole, singer Rachel Stevens, BMX Olympic medalist Kye Whyte, Paralympic medallist Stef Reid and sportsman Ben Foden.
They’re joined by showbiz presenter Ria Hebden, Happy Mondays star Bez, The Vamps’ Connor Ball and Coronation Street star Sally Dynevor.
All will return for a special skate in the final.
2022’s series sees Torvill and Dean, Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse make up the ice panel while Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are back to present.
You can watch Dancing On Ice online on the ITV website.
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