Gemma Collins has insisted she’s taking her upcoming stint on ‘Dancing On Ice’ seriously, and won’t allow her time on the show to be reduced to a “fat joke”.
In just under two weeks, Gemma and her 11 fellow celebrity contestants will be taking to the ice for the first time, with her competitors including former ‘Strictly’ pro James Jordan, ‘Love Island’ finalist Wes Nelson and ‘Coronation Street’ star Jane Danson.
But while the reality TV veteran’s appearances on other shows have mostly brought us plenty of laughs, Gemma has told The Sun she’s in it to win it on ‘Dancing On Ice’, refusing to be a “joke” act because of her size.
“Everyone thinks I’m the fat joke on the show but whatever’s going to happen in my life, I can do this,” she told the newspaper. “And I’m going to prove every fucker out there wrong. People will be eating their words. That’s how I feel.”
She did reveal that training for her first routine – which she has previously teased will be set to a Beyoncé song and feature her doing the splits – has helped her feel more fit, adding: “I’ve gone from doing no exercise to exercising two hours a day. When you feel better you don’t want to eat shit.
“I’ve cut down on a few takeaways because I know that if I have one late at night then I have to come here in the morning, then, you know, I’m not getting around that ice.
“When I first came in here I’d do like one scooter push and be out of breath. Now I can just go round and round.”
In typical GC fashion, she also let slip: “I’m not worried about injuries. I’m insured, actually, for a couple of million, so if I do have an accident, it sort of does me a favour, if you know what I mean. But I don’t want to.”
Gemma is best known for her long-standing role in the ITVBe series ‘The Only Way Is Essex’, but has since gone on to appear in the likes of ‘Splash’ and ‘Celebrity Masterchef’.
Her ill-fated 2014 appearance on ‘I’m A Celebrity’ also made headlines, when she pulled out after just 72 hours, as did her time in the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house in 2016, several quotes from which ended up going viral a year later.
‘Dancing On Ice’ launches on Sunday 6 January on ITV.