Soap star Claire Sweeney has become the second celebrity confirmed for the next series of Dancing On Ice.
The former Brookside actor announced her involvement during Wednesday’s edition of This Morning, a day after professional boxer Ricky Hatton also revealed he’d signed up for the new series.
“I’m really looking forward to going to an ice rink with my son and actually being able to skate and not have to use the penguins they give you to help you stay upright!” Claire joked.
“I’ve had to wear my boots around the house... I haven’t stepped on the ice yet.”
Claire rose to fame in the 1990s in the now-defunct soap Brookside, in which she played Lindsey Corkhill for over a decade. Earlier this year, she made her debut in Coronation Street as Cassie Plummer, the birth mother of Tyrone Dobbs.
She has also previously appeared in the inaugural series of both Celebrity Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing in the early 2000s.
Dancing On Ice returns to our screens in January 2024, but its contestants are announced months in advance due to the amount of training that goes into the show.
The new series will also see Holly Willoughby landing a new co-host, following Phillip Schofield’s resignation from ITV earlier this year, after admitting to having lied to producers about a previous affair with a younger This Morning colleague.
Stephen Mulhern – who previously filled in on Dancing On Ice when Phillip had Covid – is the favourite for the job according to reports in the tabloids, although Jane McDonald has also been rumoured for the gig, as have both Rochelle and Marvin Humes.
Other stars who’ve been rumoured to be taking part in the new series include soap star Shona McGarty, former S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearitt, ex-Goggleboxer Stephen Webb and Olympian Tessa Sanderson.