Showbiz spectacular on ice melts my heart

May 5 2008 by Phil Key, Liverpool Daily Post

Showbiz spectacular on ice melts my heart

TELEVISION shows turned into live arena spectaculars are the latest cash cow and they don’t come much more spectacular than Dancing On Ice – the Tour.

Three years after Olympic ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean re-introduced the nation to ice dance, the tour is such a big hit that the dates at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, had to be doubled due to demand. And it is easy to see why it is such a success.

On the TV show, celebrities from soapstars to football players pair up with professional ice skaters to win viewers’ votes, all choreographed by Torvill and Dean. And fans will be pleased to learn the live show follows pretty much the same format.

With the Echo Arena floorspace converted into an ice rink and nine of the most popular celebrities from the last three series on board – including this season’s reigning ice queen, Suzanne Shaw – the first part of the show compered by TV presenter (and failed ice skater) Andi Peters, is just like being at a live recording.

Each of the celebrities skates to be judged by the ice panel. Then at half time the audience gets their chance to vote, via text, for their favourite, with the two most popular going on to skate against each other in their own version of Torvill and Dean’s famous Bolero for the final. In the second half, as the votes are collated (all profits go to charity), the judging takes a backseat and Torvill and Dean and the professional skaters get the opportunity to show us all how it is really done with a series of heartstopping routines.

In the end – probably due to the home crowd – our own celebrity Hollyoaks’ actor Chris Fountain was the eventual winner.

But the big winner is the audience. For over 2½ hours, Dancing on Ice is an eye-popping whirl of crystals and sequins, interspersed with a healthy dose of humour with the skaters still prone to the occasional tumble (Kyran Bracken looked like he was back on the rugby field at one point).

If you are looking for genuine family fun with a little bit of jeopardy and a big chunk of genuine award-winning talent then Dancing on Ice has got it all.

DANCING On Ice continues at the Echo Arena tonight.

emmajohnson