Dancing on Ice

03 January 2012, 20:44

Andy Akinwolere hopes natural rhythm will be enough to hide some awful skating on Dancing On Ice!

"I’m from Africa we were born with rhythm! I’m hoping that if my hips do a little bit of wiggling, it will distract from the fact that I’m a really bad skater!"

The former Blue Peter presenter, 29, is also counting on partner Maria Fillapov's winning touch to work its magic this year, after she won series four of Dancing On Ice with Ray Quinn, back in 2009.

"I saw Ray win, he raised the bar for male contestants. There’s a pressure for any male that wants to come into Dancing On Ice to give it 100 percent and guys can be competitive but in a very sly way!  I just want to try stuff that takes me out of my comfort zone, I really want to put on a good show for people and hope that they can see the progress I’ve have made.”

One thing that no partner could prepare Andy for is the spandex costumes. He's not looking forward to squeezing into the tight outfits, and is worried about one area in particular...

“I’m not sure I’m ready for spandex and lycra! I’m a bit worried about my bottom sticking out in lycra!  I don’t usually think about these things but the other day I was like, ‘you’ve actually got quite a big ass’, but we’ll see; this is a whole different kettle of fish, we’re talking sparkles and sequins!” 

Despite the tight outfits, Andy says he'll give everything to DOI, and he'll try and avoid being too harsh on himself.

“I’m one of these people that if I do something I want to do it really well. I want to give it as much effort as possible. With Dancing on Ice you really do have to give it 100 percent, otherwise you won’t see any results. I’m also really impatient with myself and that’s my biggest problem. I’m learning to sit back, relax, because then I wouldn’t get any results. By the end of this I would have learnt a phenomenal skill and I love learning new things.”

Dancing on Ice kicks off on Sunday January 8 at 6.30.

Last updated: 04 January 2012, 22:53