New Break for Celebrities on Ice

One slip and suddenly it was obvious why trying to teach a bunch of celebrities how to ice skate might be a bad idea, writes Erica Thompson.30jun05

PETER Everett, Channel 9's eccentric home designer, is on the ground clutching his ankle. Moments earlier he was sailing across the ice in bright blue skates, the king of confidence. Approaching the edge of the rink, his feet flew up in the air, his face – and leg – contorted and he hit the ground on his back with an almighty thump.

"Owwwwwwwwwwwww!"

The other celebrities, trainers – and cameras – rush to his side. A preliminary diagnosis is not good. "It could be broken?" he shrieks.

An X-ray will later reveal Everett has fractured his tibia and his time on Nine's new celebrity reality series, Skating on Thin Ice, is over.

And this is only day three.

But with any luck, the sight of celebrities slipping, sliding and almost breaking their necks will prove as popular as the network's previous celebrity endurance programs.

Hosted by Jamie Durie, Skating on Thin Ice features singer Deni Hines, presenter Kim Kilbey, model Imogen Bailey, singer James Blundell, former beauty queen Belinda Green, Big Brother winner Reggie Bird, comedian Vince Sorrenti, David Whitehill from Hot Source and – for the first few episodes at least – Peter Everett.

The nine, seven of whom have never set foot on the ice before, are packed off to "skate camp" and have just four weeks to become the new Torvill and Dean.

The cast will then perform with Disney on Ice, with proceeds going toward children's charity, CanTeen.

However, things did not get off to a great start. Training was delayed after the ice at the original rink failed to set in time. Then, due to a mix-up, the cast spent the night in a Wollongong motel without heating.
Despite the setbacks, bumps and bruises, the group is looking remarkably chipper.

"We've had three days of skating and we've got some very sore and tired bodies, but they're absolutely amazingly good sports about it," executive producer Peter Abbott says.

"Reggie started out trying to hang on to the walls and it was just hilarious, with that shrieking laughter thing going on. But by the end of the first day, literally three or four hours of skating time, she was skating backwards on one leg. It was unbelievable."

Head coach and former Olympic figure skater Liz Cain says she was also surprised by the group.

"We thought maybe they'd be a little hard to work with, but it's totally the opposite," she says.

"They've taken spills, they've hurt themselves, but they get up and brush off the snow.

"They are like the perfect students. They are really disciplined and focused. They try everything we throw at them and we try throwing some hard things at them."

With ice skating as the focus, Abbott says the show offers something a little bit different.

"It's beautiful, apart from anything else," Abbott says.

"I think if you look at other shows that work in this vein, everyone thinks they can dance or everyone thinks they can sing – but who thinks they can skate? It's got that extra dimension of fish out of water."
Green says the show is a welcome return to family friendly entertainment.

"Everybody lives happily ever after and that's the nice thing about Disney," she says.

"Some of the reality stuff is a little bit too harsh and insensitive and impersonal and I think we've got to put a bit more fuzziness back into lives now.

"It's a crazy world and I think it's nice to have a little bit of fantasy and gentleness."

Better yet, she says, "none of us are going to get flicked even if we're really bad!".

While they might not get voted off, they do have to meet "the strict Disney standards" if they are to perform. Otherwise, the celebrities could find themselves riding props rather than dazzling the crowd on skates for their final show.

But Cain for one is confident her pupils will make the grade.
"I think the night that we see them fly out from behind the curtain and perform – everything that we've been training them to do – that will be something very neat."

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