Full marks for the Dancing on Ice: the live tour - Showbiz - Evening Standard
       

Full marks for the Dancing on Ice: the live tour



Bonnie Langford dazzles with her professional partner Matt Evers



From the moment 10 celebrities took their first tentative steps on to the ice rink, I was hooked on ITV's Dancing on Ice. So after Kyran performed his triumphant bolero I wasn't sure what I'd do without the show - until the Dancing on Ice live tour came along.

Taking along my mother, a fellow fan, we waited excitedly in Wembley Arena as the lights dimmed and the familiar theme music boomed out. Despite sitting in a huge stadium it felt as intimate as a small TV studio.

As a live show, it hinges on the performances on the night, but apart from tiny stumbles from Clare and Duncan the celebrity skaters were remarkably self-assured in front of such a big audience. We watched the three finalists from this year's and last year's show as well as two skaters from the Australian show.

All my favourite parts from the programme were included, from Kyran's body popping routine, to sparkly costumes and Jason's putdowns.

'Orang-utan'

"You look like an orang-utan with two left feet," he told a surprised Stefan. And he didn't pull his punches with the Australian skaters.

"If that was 'The time of your life' you need to get out more," he screeched at the bemused Australian model Lara.

But Ozzy male model Jake got a far warmer reception. "Great lifts," Jason told him.

"Jake's got good lifts because Jayne has spent so much time teaching him!" Christopher Dean joked.

A cheekily priced £10 programme contained score cards which we waved enthusiastically in the air and at the end of the first half we voted for our favourite contender via text. (Duncan you got my vote!)

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The Dancing on Ice live show performers

The Dancing on Ice live show performers

In part two, we watched inspiring professional routines and a wonderful aerial display by Daniel Whiston. But a bizarre 'Wheels on Ice' display by two grinning Russians stuck out like a sore thumb.

Andi Peters was a good stand in for fellow former-children's presenter Philip Scholfield. He entered wearing a leg plaster cast and I laughed uproariously until I realised he really had broken his leg.

'Naughty twinkle'

Andi's ad-libs came thick and fast during the show. "You'll catch your death from pneumonia," he admonished Lisa Scott-Lee wearing a daring black basque, during the show. "I helped her choose it," said Christopher Dean with a naughty twinkle in his eye.

Then we came to the final. After a tense wait Kyran and Bonnie were told they were dancing the bolero. And the eventual winner? The show-stopping Bonnie Langford. (She won the next night as well and is fast becoming the queen of the ice show.)

So my conclusion? At £30-£40 the tickets were pricey, but you see two hours of solid skating. The celebrity routines were fun, the professionals were energetic and Torvill and Dean...well you can't put a price on that.

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