Dancing On Ice 2023 confirms Coronation Street star as fifth celebrity skater

Virgin Radio

6 Oct 2022, 09:16

The 2023 cast of Dancing On Ice is filling up quickly!

A day after Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson was announced as the fourth star to be strapping on their skates in the new year, ITV confirmed Coronation Street actress Mollie Gallagher will be joining the 2023 series. 

She shared the news while on Lorraine, and said: “I’m really excited. I’ve not really felt nervous yet, strangely. But being here today, I am now feeling it a little bit!” 

On seeking advice from her Coronation Street co-stars, Mollie said: “I’ll be getting all the tips I can because I’m going to need it!”

Mollie stars as Nina Lucas in the long-running soap, joining in 2019 as the niece of Roy Cropper, played by David Neilson. 

In 2021, Mollie’s powerful hate crime storyline earned her the Best Serial Drama Performance gong at the National Television Awards. 

The actress joins the likes of Nile, Love Island star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, EastEnders’ Patsy Palmer and Football icon John Fashanu, with more names yet to be announced.

Yesterday (5th October), Commonwealth champ Nile shared his Dancing On Ice announcement on YouTube, and said: “This is a really cool thing. I’ve certainly not done much ice-skating but I am so excited for the opportunity.

On what he hopes to bring to the ice, Nile said: “My biggest goal on the show is to do something that no one has ever done before!”

He added: “This is completely new news but I’m so excited to get into a routine and feel like an athlete again.”

Meanwhile, Ekin-Su shared in a pre-recorded video: “I’m so excited for the team, I can’t wait to get on the ice and skate. Stay tuned and see you on the ice!”

Speaking about the opportunity to take part, Pasty said on This Morning on Monday (3rd October): “Obviously I wanted to challenge myself, get back to work, get out of my comfort zone. And I just thought, I’ll just go for it! It seems a lot of fun. I do like ice skating, but I’m not a… figure skater.”

The actress added she had previously turned down a place on the show, but this time was different. She explained: “I’ve been absolutely terrified before, but I feel like my pact I made myself when I was 50, which I was this year, was I had to do things to challenge myself for the next couple of years and get out of my comfort zone.”

Dancing On Ice is set to return to ITV in 2023.