Dan Whiston is a staple of Dancing On Ice, having participated on the show since its inception – and he knows just who would make the ideal candidate.
The Blackpool skater debuted as a professional on the ITV show in 2006 and went on to win three times with prior partners Gaynor Faye, Hayley Tamaddon, Beth Tweddle, Jennifer Ellison, and Kerry Katona.
Dan has been the programme’s associate creative director since 2019, working closely with head coach Karen Barber to create all professional routines and instruct all celebrity candidates.
Dan, 46, confessed that he’s excited to get former beauty model Katie Price on the ice, and there’s nothing more iconic than that.
‘I believe Katie Price would be fantastic! ‘I truly do,’ he said.
‘What’s fantastic about someone like Katie is that she’s very vocal, very hilarious, and I think she’d be a very, really intriguing person. That is the person I would like to have on the programme next.’
Dan also doesn’t take internet anger regarding Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcülolu’s seductive clothes seriously, despite real Ofcom concerns.
‘Can you imagine all those people on social media?’, he laughed at the thought of a possible Pricey DOI stint.
‘They wouldn’t know what had hit them!’
Dan added: ‘She would absolutely embrace her body as well and just want to push the boundaries right out there.’
‘But can Katie Price even skate?’, you might ask. Well, according to Dan, the sport is for anyone.
‘A lot of it is in the celebrities’ hands and we go in with a really open mind,’ he explained.
‘My little saying is always, aim for the stars and settle for the ceiling. We always push for as much as we can, but we have to be very safe as well, but a lot of it is created on the basics.
‘If that celebrity has worked really hard to get their basics, which is forward skating, backwards skating, and some basic steps, we’ve got a really good canvas then to build our choreography on, we can do tricks, we can do harder steps, faster moves… but if that celebrity hasn’t done that foundation course of 30 hours with a coach, before we even start choreographing, it does show later.
‘As much work and effort and dedication they put in, they will get the result later on.’
However, when it comes to the current ensemble, Dan is all about diversity, noting how vital it is for him to continue ‘pushing the limits’ and ensure the cast reflects ‘all walk of life.’
‘We’ve had some great characters in the past and the characters are still coming through now, celebrity wise. We’re pushing the boundaries that way. This year we’ve got our first drag queen, The Vivienne, who is absolutely smashing it and doing amazing. I like to think every year is fresh and different.’
‘Now we have a drag queen in, it can open the doors for next year and the year after,’ Dan added.
‘The Vivienne has paved the way for the future in a lot of ways.
‘What’s also lovely is they’re not letting it stop them that they’re two large people, and Colin (Grafton) is lifting The Vivienne. They’re finding lifts that look spectacular and they’re doing it really, really well.’
Dancing On Ice continues Sunday on ITV1.
