Dancing On Ice | Interview with Phillip Schofield (Presenter)

The always fun Phillip Schofield gives us the run down on what we can expect from this years Dancing On Ice.

What can viewers expect to see from the new series?

As with everything, every year it’s always stepped up. Hopefully this year we will be back with an audience which would be lovely to have. It will be great to have everybody back and with a little bit of luck we will make it through unscathed as it’s no secret we really struggled to get it on air last year but we’re back, we are confident and the line-up is amazing. I am led to believe that the standard of some of the skating is amazing so I think we will have a real competition on our hands this year.

Do you think the judges were harsher last year as there was no audience so they weren’t going to get booed?

I think they were pretty much the same as ever. I never think that our judges are that harsh, I’ve always thought that they are really fair.

Speaking of the panel, we have a slight tweak to this year’s panel and with Oti Mabuse joining the judging line up. What do you think of the new line up?

Amazing. I adore John (Barrowman) and obviously we will miss that larger than life personality but in every panel you want to make sure each area is well and truly serviced. Oti will definitely be the one to pick them up on their dancing and their dancing skills and that’s really important. So, you’ve got Ashley with the overall showbiz nature and difficulty with the moves, obviously Jayne and Chris who have ice skating sewn up and then you’ve got Oti who knows exactly what’s required. We really like her as well, she has been on This Morning a lot so we know she will be a great part of the team.

What advice would you give her? She is renowned for being on Strictly but now she is coming to a show which is a lot colder, icier and dangerous.

Well I think you have to take that into consideration. I love Strictly but compared to the skills that are required for Dancing on Ice it’s a walk in the park, because you have the possibility of real danger, real injury. You have a rink that is full of essentially blades and we know how dangerous they can be and how deeply they can cut and how sharp they are. I’ve just watched a video of Bez on his second day fall over backwards so hard that his helmet flew off. It’s one of those things but you don’t see that on Strictly. Dancing On Ice is really dangerous. They really all risk everything for it. We’ve seen in the past that people do get hurt and of course you want to avoid that at all cost. I think we will be wrapping Bez up in bubble wrap that’s for sure.

Talking of someone like Bez are there times where you and Holly are watching performances and are like ‘oh no’ and watch through your fingers?

Holly more so than me, she is often behind her hands but I think at least one of us should be watching. Holly doesn’t like the headbangers at all, she absolutely hates them, but I’m the sort of person who loves a rollercoaster. I like the thrill of being a bit scared and you know it’s not my head that’s spinning around. You always want it to work and you always want them to be OK, we never ever want anybody to hurt themselves. It’s fine if they fall over, that’s great we all love a trip here and there but obviously you never want anybody to hurt themselves.

Has there ever been a moment where you really felt you were holding your breath?

Pam (O’Connor professional skater) who was with David Seaman. She smacked her mouth and you never want to see blood on the ice as it’s a nightmare to get out, once it freezes into it. That was a horrible moment. Also, Jennifer Ellison, she was so bendy that she lifted her foot so high up she cut her own head with her own skate, so that was self-inflicted. Sometimes it happens in rehearsals as well when you are watching it and thinking, ‘you are right on the ragged edge here’. That’s always a bit worrying.

Is there anybody from the line-up that you are really excited to see on the ice and could really wow us with some of their moves?

I think there is more than one person who is going to wow this year. I think between four, maybe five, we have a proper competition on our hands. So, you’ve got dancers who I think are going to do particularly well. You want someone who isn’t scared and I think Kye Whyte is fearless so that always helps when you’ve got someone who isn’t actually scared of the ice or scared of breaking something. So, I think we have got more than one this year, definitely.

Because of that do you think viewers will possibly see routines or moves that they have possibly not seen before on Dancing on Ice?

Yes, because it’s when they get into a competition when it really fires up and then they see all their competition in front of them, who’s doing what and that’s normally when they go ‘right let’s do this or let’s do that’. The pros are obviously brilliant at that and picking out the strengths of their partner.

This series we have two Olympians and others such as Brendan Cole and Ben Foden who are used to competing and winning, so the competition amongst themselves could heat up. I know they are all friends and they say they are family…

Yes, they are all friends and it is all a lovely family. Every so often there are scraps in every family but it’s mostly a family. You always find, well certainly with the sports people, that they take it very seriously and are so self-critical and they beat themselves up. So, certainly from the sports side of things there is an element of inherent competitiveness, they just can’t help it.

We’ve got Stef Reid who is a Paralympian and previously we had another paralympian Libby Clegg who wowed us each week with her breathtaking performances. Do you think it’s important to show that anybody can take to the ice?

That’s the great thing about the show and the people who want to become a part of it, they are without question, right back to Johnson Beharry, people who are genuine inspirations for anyone watching and that’s hopefully what this show is. You know you can do this, it doesn’t matter we are open to everybody.

Why do you think Dancing on Ice is so popular with viewers?

Do you think it’s the jeopardy, you know at any moment something could happen? Yes, it switches between the beautiful and the dangerous and there is a mix there. It looks gorgeous on the telly and I always think our team is so clever as it looks so beautiful. So you’ve got the skating princesses and princes’ and at the same time you’ve got the possibility of real jeopardy. Someone you are a big fan of may end up flat on their backside, there is always that. I suppose it really goes without saying that you never know whether you’re going to get a Gemma Collins moment.

You’ve hosted the show since the start. Is there still after all these years and all these series and all the contestants, things that surprise you?

Well last series surprised us all, that took us by surprise in a number of different ways and in ways that none of us ever want to repeat, so yes it does still surprise you. What surprised me last year was although we did falter and fall once, we still kept it pretty much on the telly. The team was amazingly careful but it was a perfect storm of injury in Covid. I am always surprised by ability and someone will come out of nowhere and you’ll think, ‘wow, this is beautiful’, what a wonderful moment or that was extraordinary. So, there are always moments like that, so yes it surprises me because people sign up for it because I wouldn’t. I’m A Celeb is the one for me, that’s the one I’d want to do.

Is there a trial you’d really want to do?

There are none of them I’m scared of.

How about eating one with the fermented egg?

I’d probably gag obviously, the same as everyone else does. The reason I can’t do I’m A Celeb, is that they eat with their metal tins and metal spoons and the one thing that goes through me, even now I’ve got goose pimples talking about it, is metal on metal. So, I could never do it for that reason. So, it’s not because of any of the trials or any of the bugs but if they are given wooden cutlery then maybe.

Of all the years of Dancing on Ice, what is your best moment or the most spectacular moment?

Gemma Collins had the most spectacular fall. I think Hayley Tamaddon and Daniel Whiston doing Jai Ho, that sticks in my mind as being a particularly breath-taking performance but there have been so many it’s hard to pick them out. I think Jai Ho always seems to bubble to the top and it sounded so great in the rink, so I think that’s probably my favourite, that was a big moment.

With it being a public vote what do you think the celebrities need to bring to the ice to have a fighting chance of getting through each week?

I think they’ve got to be themselves. I don’t think you can persuade anybody to vote for you, I think they will vote if they’re a fan, they’ll vote if you’ve impressed them and they’ll vote if you appear to be having a good time. There have been a couple of people who have let’s say been spikey. If you are spikey I think you are unlikely to win them over, but we still like you if you’re spikey it doesn’t make any difference as far as I’m concerned but on the telly I think if you appear to be a bit spikey then maybe it doesn’t go down quite so well.

It’s that time of year where it’s January and Dancing on Ice brings that much needed sparkle and glamour. On the telly it looks like everyone is having the best time and it’s a bit of a party atmosphere. What’s it like in the studio?

Yes definitely, even more so last year even though we were doing it for the viewers in the studio it was just for us. In January it is dank and dark outside and you’ve got this bright, shiny, glittery show. When you start it’s just after Christmas in the dead of January when there is nothing else happening and by the time we’ve finished it will be Spring.

Which skating move is the one you most look forward to seeing?

I suppose it’s got to be the headbanger, it has to be that. That’s the sort of money shot, that’s the one that is dangerous if you don’t get it right. It’s getting them back on their skates after, because the cheat is to spin them round then lay them on the floor but the difficulty is getting that one leg down after it. Watching that is always ‘oh my god oh my god’.

One of our contestants is a slightly older lady. Do you think it’s important to have that kind of age range to show people that anyone can take up a skill or a sport at any age?

Of course, look at Didi Conn from Grease everybody adored her and she was such a wonderful, warm woman and she really enjoyed it. She was a slightly older lady and she got a massive amount out of it and really enjoyed it, so you are never too old.

On This morning you and Holly are renowned for getting the giggles and making everybody else laugh, has that ever happened on Dancing on Ice?

We have laughed but you couldn’t do it the way it happens on This Morning because the subject material that generally makes us laugh is inappropriate. There is something about primetime shiny floor or shiny ice that galvanises you just that little bit more. There is always a possibility it could happen, we’ve got very close but I think you stand a little straighter on there and there is a self-edit button that we manage to click.

I know we ask you this every year but of course you did some skating lessons a few years ago, are you ever tempted to go on the ice? I know last year it was a no, is it still a no?

Yes, I mean I did it with Christine (Lampard), we learnt the routine and I thought it was amazing. I watched it back and I thought I was zipping across the ice but I was like a tortoise, so slow and I realised then you’ve got to have the time to put in to be really good. If you are going to do something like that, I don’t want it to be a novelty. I want it to be a ‘oh my god they’re amazing’ and we just don’t have the time to put in.

There used to be this rumour that the female judges used to wear Ugg boots on the show, so they had on these glamorous dresses but under the desk they were wearing Ugg Boots, are there any secrets you can tell us from this panel or from you guys, is there a secret stash of sweets?

Yes, there are always sweets. Now last year of course nobody could share sweets so everyone had their own individual sweets and they weren’t allowed to hand them round. I don’t know what the rules are this year on sharing sweets but the panel has always got sweets. Backstage as we would get to the end of the show maybe Holly and I might have a little glass of something, so maybe in the last commercial break we might have a little something when you know that even by the time it hits you you’ll be off the telly and it will be OK.

Which is your favorite tipple?

Back there it’s normally bubbles, I’m not being grand it’s probably Prosecco.