Lady Leshurr is the tenth star CONFIRMED to appear in Dancing on Ice 2021

11

View
comments

Musician Lady Leshurr is the tenth star confirmed to be appearing in Dancing on Ice 2021.

The star, 30, joined Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely on Wednesday’s KISS Radio breakfast show to announce the news, and admitted she’s already ‘petrified’ of taking to the rink. 

Lady joins a slew of stars including Rebekah Vardy, Jason Donovan, Myleene Klass and Denise Van Outen who will take to the ice when the ITV show returns to screens next year.

Rapper Leshurr – real name Melesha Katrina O’Garro – said: ‘Oh my gosh I don’t what I’ve got myself in for but everyone knows me to be that person to just throw myself in at the deep end and I just wing it a lot of the time

‘I’m petrified, (but) I’ve always wanted to ice skate so what’s better than doing it in front of millions of people. I’m looking forward to having a new skill, (skating) backwards and just showing off in front of my friends.’

Asked whether she had ever skated before, she told Jordan and Perri: ‘I think once or twice when I was younger and even then I was petrified like I literally would sit and watch everyone else go because I would always think about the worst scenario, falling and someone running over my fingers and things like that BUT I can dance!’

Leshurr also revealed that she had to keep the news a secret from her family, saying: ‘I kept it quiet, you see with me I like to always surprise, especially my family, I like to always surprise them. 

‘I’ll be like ”Yeah turn it onto channel, whatever”, and they’ll be like ”Oh my gosh!”, that’s what I love to do so I always keep the secrets just in case I blow it.’

She was also quick to ask former contestant Perri for advice, after he finished runner-up last year with pro Vanessa Bauer. 

He simply said: ‘Whenever you can just get on the ice.’

Leshurr is most well-known for her Queen’s Speech series of freestyles raps, with the fourth becoming the most popular in 2016.

Alongside performing with Olly Murs on The X Factor in 2018, she also competed on Celebrity Masterchef earlier this year.

It comes just a day after Rebekah Vardy was confirmed to be appearing in the star-studded lineup on Tuesday. 

The WAG gushed that she was ‘so ready’ for the glam squad as she prepares to take to the rink next year, but her husband Jamie is hoping she doesn’t ‘fall over.’ 

Rebekah said: ‘I’m so ready for the sequins and the full glam squad. After months of lockdown it’ll be nice to get the glam on.’

Speaking about the news on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain in the midst of the daily school Rebekah revealed she’d learned to skate from a young age.

She said: ‘I just think I want everyone to laugh at me really! 

‘My dad taught me how to stand up on a pair of skates when I was about 7 years old, we used to go skating a lot when my mum and dad split up, we would go with him to the local ice rink. 

‘I’m really excited actually. The only time I’ve been ice skating since is when we take our kids to the rink.’

Asked whether Jamie is excited to see her take to the rink – she added: ‘He says he hopes I don’t fall over too much so I hope I don’t fall over too much!’

Rebekah added that she decided to sign up for the show as she wanted ‘everyone to laugh at her,’ and revealed she is due to start training ‘in a couple of weeks.’ 

She said: ‘I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into that and get going with it. I’m going to give 100 per cent effort throughout. And I hopefully won’t knock my Shergar teeth out.’

Rebekah also addressed her looming High Court battle with Coleen Rooney, telling Piers and Susanna she’s determined to clear her name.

She said: ‘Look, we tried to sort things out amicably, it just didn’t work. I understand people think it’s ridiculous, but what was I meant to do? I need to clear my name. 

‘I want to clear my name. I will do whatever that takes. I hope it’s going to be resolved soon. It’s just one of the things that has to go through the process unfortunately now.

‘I found it really tough. But to be fair Piers, in comparison to what some people have gone through with COVID and things like that, it’s incomparable.’

The news comes as Rebekah is set to head-to-head with Coleen Rooney, after sources claimed their High Court battle is due to begin in a matter of weeks.

According to The Mirror, Coleen, 38, and Rebekah, 38, will face off in November – one year after the former accused the latter of leaking stories about her to the press. 

Rebekah, wife of footballer Jamie Vardy, is seeking substantial damages in the subsequent libel trial, as she claims to have suffered ‘severe and extreme hostility and abuse’ in the fallout after the claims were published on Instagram. 

Coleen’s very public feud began when she accused Rebekah of leaking stories to the press last year, a claim Rebekah vehemently denies. 

It has since been claimed that Coleen wants to undertake ‘forensic analysis’ of Rebekah’s electronics to look for evidence, according to a report from The Sun.

A source speaking to the publication claimed: ‘Coleen met with her lawyers and they’ve told her they need to continue putting together more evidence.

‘She needs to prove that Becky was directly responsible for the leaks or, at the very least, that the information came from her social media account.  

‘Coleen is adamant she is right, but in a legal setting the evidence she has may not be enough to cross the threshold.’

It comes after British Olympians Colin Jackson and Graham Bell both confirmed they’re set to compete on the upcoming series next year.

Former sprint and hurdling athlete Colin, 53, and veteran skiing ace Graham, 54, announced the news during a joint appearance on BBC Breakfast on Saturday. 

Talking to hosts John Kay and Sally Nugent, five time Olympic skier Graham said: ‘Ice doesn’t scare me, it’s the dancing, whereas I know you can dance, Colin.’

He admitted the extent of his dancing experience was confined to ‘dancing on tables, wearing ski boots in après ski. It’s not graceful and elegant!’

Graham joked that Colin might be so competitive, saying: ‘Colin’s probably called up Katrina Witt and flown her over from Germany and hired her as a private coach!’

The two sportsmen know each other well, with Graham telling the hosts: ‘Colin is an excellent pupil because I actually coached him on Ski Sunday in 2007 and he’s one of the trainees that takes on information so well.’

Whilst he no doubt believes Colin to be a big contender, the seasoned skier did admit that the ‘transferable skills of edge control, balance’ in his sport would be useful on the ice.

For his part, Colin said of preparations: ‘The first thing for us all is to get used to our boots. I don’t know if you’ve tried ice skating boots but they are pretty tight so we’ve got to get our feet in there and start getting used to balancing on them.

‘We won’t get onto the ice fully until the middle of October.’

He added: ‘I can do a little bit of skating. I think with sport in itself you’ve certainly got a bit of balance and that will be transferable in this circumstance. How much dancing we’ll do, who knows? We’ll see how the choreography goes.’

The star went on to say: ‘I’m going to try and that’s the most important thing. You go out there, you enjoy yourself and you learn a new skill and to hone the skill of skating will just be a huge, huge plus. I’m looking forward to it.’

Presenter Sally Nugent asked the two who they thought might be strong competition in the 2021 line up that she said ‘has got to be one of the best in recent times’.

Graham responded that ‘Jason Donovan is obviously a big performer’ and Colin added: ‘Denise Van Outen can dance, she’s obviously been in musicals.’ 

Their announcement comes one day after Capital Radio DJ Sonny Jay was confirmed as the sixth celebrity to take part in the forthcoming series. 

Sonny, 27, broke the news to listeners on Friday morning while presenting  his daily breakfast show that he hosts alongside Roman Kemp and Sian Welby. 

Sonny teased his co-hosts during the show with clues including scarves, face glitter and playing the This Morning theme tune – hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield also present Dancing On Ice – before finally making the announcement.  

He said: ‘I’m going to be doing Dancing on Ice! I’m so excited, I don’t know how I kept it a secret.’ 

Co-host Roman, who had no idea his colleague had signed up for the show, added: ‘We were talking about it.. we’ve been talking about Denise Van Outen and Jason Donovan. Move them aside, Sonny’s gonna win this!’  

With Roman also pointing out that he might take a tumble or two on the ice, Sonny admitted he was keen to avoid making a fool of himself in front of the viewing public. 

He said: ‘I don’t want to fall over, not in front of the nation. I don’t want to be a meme the next day!’

The presenter revealed he’s apprehensive about rehearsals because he’ll be performing in front of solid, experienced dancers – as well as celebrated skaters Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean – when the show returns. 

‘I start training next month,’ he said. ‘It comes back to ITV next year, Torvill and Dean, Ashley Banjo and John Barrowman are going to be the judges, which I’m a little bit nervous about because they’re wicked dancers.’ 

Following the announcement Sonny was treated to a handful of recorded good luck messages from celebrity pals, among them Sam Smith. 

Congratulating the presenter, Sam said:  ‘Hi Sonny, good luck for Dancing on Ice! I think you need to watch I, Tonya and get your spin on!’  

Welcoming Sonny to the show, Christopher Dean added: ‘Hi Sonny, welcome to Dancing on Ice! I hope you’re ready to swap those headphones for headbangers. See you soon.’ 

The announcement comes after Coronation Street’s Faye Brookes and former Neighbours star Jason Donovan  were confirmed for Dancing On Ice.

Faye, 33, confirmed her involvement in the show on Lorraine, while Jason, 52, revealed he was taking part while appearing on This Morning.

Looking ahead to the show, Faye said: ‘I’m so excited! We had to review the basic, we were filmed too. 

‘The producers get to know you and this is the first time I think people are just going to see me, not being a character… Just being me – Faye!’  

The official Dancing On Ice Instagram also confirmed the news and added a statement from the actress, which said: ‘I’m a trained dancer, but attempting to put something I already know very well on skates is quite scary!’ 

During her interview with Lorraine Kelly, Faye also admitted that she already has a ‘little’ experience as her father used to play ice hockey.

She confessed: ‘I have a little, I might be Bambi but my dad used to play ice hockey so we did that often. There were no official lessons but we had fun as a weekend activity.’

Discussing how the show will be filmed with current guidelines amid the coronavirus crisis, Faye explained: ‘They are taking all the precautions, we’re just going to have to be safe and careful. 

‘I’m going to be in a bubble with my pro partner who I still don’t know. It’s nerve-wracking but still so excited. We need to make sure we’ll be keeping everyone safe.’

Faye, who was previously engaged to Gareth Gates, sweetly gushed that she has loved having her personal trainer boyfriend, Joe Davis, by her side during training.

The soap star’s ex Gareth, 36, appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2008 where he finished in fourth place with professional skater Maria Filippov. He also appeared on the 2014 All Stars show and finished in seventh place with Brianne Delcourt. 

She said: ‘Ice skating is an Olympic sport, but I’m up for the challenge. Having Joe by my side training has just been the cherry on the cake.’

Faye also revealed that she will be asking for advice from former Coronation Street co-star Brooke Vincent who appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2018.

She joked: ‘As soon as this interview is over I can contact them but I’ve obviously had to keep this to myself. It’s the biggest secret I’ve kept in my life! 

‘I saw Brooke yesterday and I was desperate to tell her but I thought one more day and I’ll be able to. She’ll be my first text message after I’ve finished this interview.’ 

Faye left Coronation Street in 2019 after four years of playing Kate Connor on the cobbles.  

Meanwhile Neighbours star Jason – who previously took part in Strictly Come Dancing – admitted he is well aware the ice is ‘not that forgiving’. 

Speaking to Dancing on Ice co-hosts Phil and Holly on This Morning, he said: ‘I think it’s a little bit different than Strictly because that’s really defined by the moves that you do. 

‘Skating is very much the flow and the rhythm of being on the ice. Let’s be honest, ice is not that forgiving, and I am 52. I know I look pretty good for it, but that could all change.’ 

When Phil joked that Jason would’ve been ‘unlikely to smash [his] teeth in’ on Strictly like he possibly could on Dancing on Ice, the actor said: ‘Thanks for that, Phil. That’s a load of encouragement for me.’

He added: ‘I’ve done a little bit of skating in my youth in Australia, surprisingly, in the heat of an Australian summer. I’ve surfed, I’ve skied a lot. I guess you bring a little bit of that sort of confidence. 

‘Doing that in front of five, six, or seven million people is probably a little bit of a difference. To be able to learn a skill and spend some time focused is quite exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys.’ 

Also joining the star-studded lineup is presenter Denise Van Outen, however she was pipped to the post by Loose Women panellist Linda Robson, who accidentally confirmed the news before the big reveal. 

By means of hinting, the Loose Women panel opened an array of envelopes including a picture of Denise Welch, a transit van, and a breakfast fry up – to mark her time on The Big Breakfast – but Linda accidentally barked: ‘Van Outen!’

Despite the gaffe, Denise spoke on the show about her new role and her daughter Betsy, 10, saying: ‘I’m really excited. Finally, I get to tell people. I’ve kept this a secret from most of my friends and family. Betsy doesn’t even know….

‘She’s at school, so she’s going to find out this afternoon when I pick her up from school.. She will be so excited. She loves the show and we watch it every year…

‘Literally, I cannot stand up on ice. Every time I’ve taken Betsy around on a rink I’ve been the one on the penguin.’ 

Last month, it was reported that Denise has signed up to the upcoming series as a contestant in a staggering £40,000 deal. 

Elsewhere, Dancing On Ice hosts Holly and Phillip announced on Tuesday’s This Morning that Joe-Warren would be a contestant and teased that they already knew who his partner will be.

The actor, who plays Jacob Gallagher on the soap, said he was ‘excited’ about the prospect of appearing on the show, as he revealed his character will be taking a six month break from the ITV soap.

Denise and Joe-Warren, who has been dating model girlfriend Nicole Hadlow since 2017, joins the previously announced Myleene Klass.

All twelve will skate in the hopes of mastering the ice when the competition commences in the new year.

Phillip and Holly will once again return to present the show and the expert panel of Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean, John Barrowman and Ashley Banjo will all resume their roles as judges.

So far, Faye  tops the betting with the bookies at 5/2, while Denise Van Outen is just behind at 5/1.

Joe-Warren Plant is fancied at 6/1 with Myleene Klass currently chalked up at 8/1, according to Ladbrokes.