Nile Wilson has hit back at claims he has an advantage on Dancing On Ice.
The Olympic gymnast is taking to the ice this weekend as the ITV skating show returns for 2023, where he and professional skating partner Olivia Smart will be taking on the likes of Michelle Heaton and Łukasz Różycki, Joey Essex and Vanessa Bauer, Patsy Palmer and Matt Evers, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Brendyn Hatfield and Siva Kaneswaran and Klabera Komini.
Ahead of the new series, Nile - who is favourite with the bookies to take home the winner's trophy - has slammed claims that he has an advantage over his fellow stars due to his sporting background.
Speaking to The Mirror and other press, he said: "There's a lot of elements to the performing. For me, the really difficult bit is expressing emotion in the performance because the gymnastics for me, I was creating art with my body, not my face.
"She keeps saying smile with your eyes and I'm like what on earth does that mean? I'm concentrating on what I'm doing so my eyes are wide open, my mouth is wide open. I don't necessarily see it as an advantage."
He added: "We've all got our strengths and weaknesses. I can throw myself on the ice but being able to tell a story with the music and be intimate with a partner and do stuff with the arms that connects with the feet is hard."
Nile is keen to "shock" viewers with his time on Dancing On Ice - and is desperate to win.
"It’s an unbelievable opportunity. I’ve been retired from sport for the last couple of years. You struggle to find the real purpose, it’s a really difficult thing. This is something that is learning a new skill, it’s essentially a new sport and I’m excited to feel like a professional athlete again. I’m going to take my training seriously. I’m a competitor so I really, really want to win!" he added.
"There is a fire inside of me that makes me a competitor. It’s going to be a really amazing experience. With my gymnastics background I’m body-aware and I’m really passionate about doing something on the ice that no other contestant has done before - I really want to shock the viewers and almost make history!
"Apart from going on double dates when I was 13 years old, I have absolutely no skating experience. I can skate and stay on my feet but no. That’s what excites me a lot as we get into training - I want everyone to see me on the first show thinking I’ve been skating my whole life! I’m going to really dedicate myself to training but I have zero experience."
* Danci ng on Ice starts Sunday at 6:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
