Dancing on Ice signs EastEnders legend as first celebrity skater for 2023 series
DANCING On Ice’s first celebrity skater has been revealed as Patsy Palmer.
Show hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby gave clues about who has signed up for the 2023 series on This Morning.
The first hint about the mystery was red hair, followed by a set of DJ decks.
Some This Morning viewers guessed Chris Evans or Stacey Dooley.
But they were shocked when EastEnders legend Patsy appeared on-screen, live from her home in Los Angeles.
“I wanted to challenge myself, get back to work and get out of my comfort zone. I thought I’d just go for it”, said Patsy, who turned 50 this year.
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“It seems a lot of fun and I love ice skating, but I’m not an ice skater.
“I’ve been asked to do it before, but I was absolutely terrified.
“The pact I made to myself when I turned 50, which I did this year, is that I have to do things to challenge myself for the next couple of years.
“I don’t want to get stuck in this weird phase of ‘ahh I’m 50’. It’s such a weird age.
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“This is for all the 50-year-olds who think they can’t do this.
“I’m actually quite scared now.”
Patsy played Bianca in EastEnders from 1993 to 1999, reprised her role from 2008- 2014 and then returned again briefly in 2019.
She moved to the US in 2014 and in 2020 she rebranded herself as a lifestyle guru and launched her own wellness Instagram page, Good and Proper.
Vowing to give it her all, Patsy explained she will train in Los Angeles to be near to her kids before travelling over to London when the show airs in January 2023.
Patsy added: “I’ll be travelling back, but training in Los Angeles which I feel blessed about.
“I’m going to try to win. I don’t know how you do that, but I’m going to go for it.”
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But her exciting announcement will be news to her daughter – who she has no idea.
Patsy admitted: “My daughter has been travelling so she’ll be like ‘what is going on?’ I’m excited about that when she comes back.”
