Dancing on Ice is officially in full swing as the contestants have all now taken to the ice for the first time. This weekend, ITV viewers saw Ricky Hatton in the skate-off against comedian Lou Saunders.
After both performed their routines again, it was Lou whom the judges decided to save. Although he may have been booted out first, the 45-year-old revealed he was proud of how far he’d come since first stepping foot onto the ice.
Speaking to Express.co.uk and other media publications before his debut in week one, the boxer touched on his first experience on the rink. He admitted: “I was dreading it, we had the masterclass and Torvill and Dean were in the middle of the ice rink. You had to skate out to the middle.
“Bearing in mind, at that time I’d not done two steps, never mind go to the middle. To be interviewed by Torvil and Dean, I think it must’ve taken me half an hour to get there!
“I was like Robocop! I thought to myself, not only is this my first time on the ice but they’re actually videoing me and interviewing me. I was a broken man, to be honest with you.
“From that day, to where I am today. It’s a real sense of self-achievement in me, to be honest.
“I know everyone must’ve thought, ‘Oh Ricky’s the weakest link, look at him here’.
“It’s been great to see, not just myself, but to see how everyone else has improved and developed and how they’ve gotten better.”
Ricky highlighted how well the celebrities had improved by the time he saw them ahead of the live show during rehearsals.
He added: “I’m feeling very proud of myself but I feel a bit proud of everyone because it is hard.
“If you have been on ice before you know how hard it is and to put a sequence and combination together like that.
“It’s hard as it is and as hard as we work there is a real sense of achievement from it at the end of the day.”
Although Ricky will no longer be skating in the competition, Sunday night saw some impressive routines from the second batch of celebrities.
Topping the leaderboard is BBC Radio 1 star Adele Roberts after she blew the judges away with her routine, earning her a high score of 27.5.
However, Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards received the same score, putting him in joint first.
Following close behind is reality star Miles Nazaire who was awarded a total of 26.
Dancing on Ice continues Sunday on ITV from 6:20pm.