Former EastEnders star Patsy Palmer has become the first celebrity confirmed for the new series of Dancing On Ice.
The actor – best known for her role as Bianca Jackson in the BBC soap – was officially unveiled as the ITV skating show begun announcing its 2023 line-up on Monday.
Appearing on This Morning, Patsy told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: “I wanted to challenge myself and get back to work, get out of my comfort zone.
“And I just thought ‘I’ll just go for it’, it seems like a lot of fun.”
Patsy – who finished fifth when she took part on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 – admitted she had been asked to compete on Dancing On Ice before but had been “absolutely terrified” about taking part.
Explaining why she thinks now is the right time, she said: “I feel like my pact that I made with myself when I was 50, which I was this year, was I have to do things to challenge myself for the next couple of years and get out of my comfort zone because I don’t want to get stuck in this thing of ‘Ah, I’m 50’. It’s such a weird age.
“So this is for all the 50-year-olds out there that think they can’t challenge themselves, so feel free to follow me and watch me do whatever I need to do.”
Patsy rose to fame when she joined the cast of EastEnders in 1993 and made her most recent appearance in the soap for a guest stint in 2019.
Since leaving the role of Bianca full time in 2014, Pasty has established herself in the US, where she works as a DJ.
Dancing On Ice is set to return to ITV in 2023 with 10 more new celebrities taking to the ice, with their identities revealed in due course.