The “bad boy of ballroom” image has dogged Brendan Cole for more than 15 years.
But now the former Strictly Come Dancing pro is hoping to ditch that label for good as viewers see a new side of him on Dancing on Ice.
He may be one of the favourites to win the ITV skating contest, but he insists he is only interested in beating his own score week after week. And if fans are expecting the kind of row with the judges that got him a reputation on Strictly they’ll be waiting a long time.
Because Brendan, who left Strictly in 2018, insists his overly competitive “do or die” reputation isn’t really him at all.
He says: “I had 15 years of that narrative, regardless of how funny I was or the silly stuff that I got up to backstage.
“If my Strictly partner wanted to work hard and try and be there at the end, I’d be working my backside off. But if my partner was like, ‘I don’t want it that much’, that was fine also.”
The New Zealand-born star adds: “Now people can see what I’m really like – a bit of an idiot most of the time!”
During nearly two decades on the hit BBC1 dance show Brendan, 45, was paired with celebrities including Kelly Brook and Lisa Snowdon. So how does his latest dance partner, 25-year-old pro-skater Vanessa Bauer, compare?
Brendan says: “Within my field, I’ve had a handful of partners who I’ve absolutely loved working with, they were inspiring to me as a dancer and I’ve loved the feeling of dancing with them – and I’m so very thankful Vanessa’s exactly the same.
“She’s got something very special on the ice. She’s a phenomenal skater, exceptionally talented. I’m very, very lucky to have been partnered with her.
“There are a few elements to our personalities that just work. We love that feeling of, ‘It’s not quite good enough until the day’. We have that same drive, the same work ethic. She’s got a little bit of spice in her, which I like.
“She gives me a look every now and then and I know I’m in trouble and just go, ‘Sorry!’ She has to put up with my ridiculous sense of humour and the crazy things I say and do on the ice. So I think that just works.”
Brendan has taken his position in the show so seriously that in the early days of training he rented a flat near the Slough Ice Arena in Berkshire where he trains with Vanessa during the week.
In the few months of training before the series started, his family – wife of 11 years Zoe and their children Aurelia, nine, and Dante, three – remained at their home in Mallorca.
Just as with Strictly, stars of Dancing on Ice are dogged by rumours of a “curse”. Brendan was hit by Strictly’s first “curse” claim in 2004, when he had a close relationship with his dance partner, newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, 49, as his engagement to fellow dancer Camilla Dallerup ended – though the pair denied any affair.
So it was almost inevitable he would find himself the subject of speculation again. However, the “curse” is not something he or his model and wellness blogger wife Zoe, 37, need to worry about.
Brendan says: “The curse is not an issue for me, no. I’m a happily married man dancing with a beautiful young lady who’s almost half my age!
“Zoe has been an angel. She’s been incredible throughout this. She’s had two children pretty much on her own for the duration.
“I can’t thank her enough for that because if you’re in a relationship, you can’t do a show like this without support, it would just be too hard.”
Zoe and the kids have now reunited with Brendan having moved to their UK home in Buckinghamshire to support him on the show.
He adds: “I’m sure there are days where she wants to lock the door and keep me out because I come in with my little head spinning with stuff, but she’s been amazing.
“The children are very excited about it, my daughter in particular. They get to come to the show and I’ve had Aurelia on the ice a couple of times, which is nice.
“It’s a lovely thing to do, having been on Strictly for so long. This is a job where I get to really grow and do something very different.”
For now, all his focus is on skating in one of the most competitive series in the show’s history. While he and Vanessa have been bagging top scores they face stiff competition from fellow professional dancer Regan Gascoigne and Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt. Yet despite both skaters also coming from a dance background, it is Brendan who has come in for criticism from fans who think his 15 years on Strictly give him an unfair advantage.
“I think everybody’s got their own strength and weakness,” he says. “And you can’t compare apples with pears. Yes, I find it easy to pick up choreography because it’s something I’ve done for many years, whereas somebody else may struggle. There’s definitely a competition within a competition for the ones that have dance experience, of which there are a few.
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“Whoever wins at the end, good luck, it doesn’t really matter. It’s about what we do against each other on the ice each weekend and building on that for the next Sunday.”
As the competition hots up, fans might be expecting to see Brendan lose his cool over criticism from the panel – Olympic legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Diversity’s Ashley Banjo and Strictly star Oti Mabuse. On Strictly, Brendan would bite back, but he says the chances of that happening now are slim.
He adds: “It was my job to keep the judges in check [on Strictly] because that’s having your partner’s back...to defend them and not let the judges ruin their confidence.
“This is a different role. I want their knowledge. I want their expertise. I want them to tell me what I’m doing wrong.
“I want them to be pleased with what they see, but I also want them to give me their ideas of where they see me going in the future so that I can come back the week after and hopefully impress them.”
He’s certainly impressing the viewers.
- Dancing on Ice, Sunday, 6pm, ITV1
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