Dancing On Ice 2009

[Perdita]

Ray Quinn has said that he is having to conquer his fear of heights for the Dancing On Ice final.

The former X Factor star admitted that he was struggling to cope with the flying routine in the final because he suffers from bad motion sickness.

"I love the flying and to get to do it is an honour," Quinn told DS. "But I am scared of heights. I get sea sick, I get car sick. I don't like rollercoasters.

"You're all strapped in and it was hard to deal with at first. The more times I've done it, the easier it's become, but I'm still finding it hard to be delicate and smooth. I've got to get in that frame of mind."

Speaking about criticisms that he was already a trained dancer before the show, Quinn commented: "I thought myself, I would have an advantage as a dancer. But when you put the blades on and only have a couple of millimetres of steel, you are literally on the ice and dancing...It's slippy out there!

"Off the ice, I could dance all day. But on the ice, it's very different."

The Dancing On Ice final airs on Sunday on ITV1 at 6:55pm.

[Perdita]

Dancing On Ice has a calming effect on prisoners, according to Donal MacIntyre.

The investigative reporter, 42, confirmed that he had been "inundated" with letters from prisoners about his appearance on the show.

"My old TV work used to be number one viewing at Her Majesty’s prisons and now Dancing On Ice is number one in prisons at seven o’clock on a Sunday," he told Digital Spy.

"I was told by one prison officer that it has a calming effect in some of Her Majesty’s most secure establishments.

"It is exclusively male prisoners. They are from local prisons in Surrey and a few high security places. Prisoners have left messages on my mobile and contacted me on Facebook. I've had around 50 letters.

"They leave messages like 'I hope you win, we love you!'. Previously they said, 'I'm innocent, get me out!'"

He added: "I was stopped by a guy in Guildford, who said 'We love your stuff Donal. I've just been let out after a five-year stretch. We really love Dancing On Ice. I loved your outfit for the Blues Brothers routine'."

MacIntyre also admitted that he was finding himself more nervous during the skate-offs on the show than when he was "dealing with prisons and gangsters".

The Dancing On Ice final airs on ITV1 on Sunday at 6:55pm.

[Abbie]

Dancing On Ice's Ray Quinn has been confirmed for a run as Danny Zuko in the West End production of Grease.

Quinn will play the lead role at the Piccadilly Theatre from May 11 to October 3 after completing the Dancing On Ice live tour. Further casting is still to be announced.

The former X Factor contestant has previously performed as Doody in the musical.

"I'm so excited to be going back to Grease," Quinn told Digital Spy. "This time I'm playing Danny Zucko. It's a massive opportunity and a dream come true.

"Since I was a kid, I've always loved the character and said I wanted to do that one day. I can't believe my luck."

Producer David Ian commented: "I am absolutely delighted to have a performer of Ray's stature in Grease. He has proven what an incredible talent he is on Dancing on Ice and I know he will truly thrill audiences as Danny Zuko."

Quinn will compete against Jessica Taylor and Donal MacIntyre in the Dancing On Ice final this weekend. The singer is the bookmakers' favourite to win the show but has played down his chances of taking home the title.

"Nothing's for sure. I've got to go out there and fight for it," he said. "I'm just loving the fact that I'm in the final. Anything after that is a bonus."

What! I really wanted to see this, but Im sorry Im gonna have to wait even longer, Im not gonna see it if hes in it

[Chloe O'brien]

Aw bless I really hope Donal wins, he's going to get my vote on Sunday.

[DaVeyWaVey]

I think Donal deserves to win. He's developed and improved as a skater from the start and has come quite a long way.

[Perdita]

LAST night’s Dancing On Ice final could well be the last for one of the judges — because ITV bosses are considering slashing the panel down to FOUR.

Producers are worried the five-strong group doesn’t allow for enough criticism as the judges struggle to each have their say.

They reckon a four-strong panel would be better and give a more rounded view.

An insider said: “There are some great names on the panel but sometimes we don’t get enough out of them. In the early stages of the competition there are so many dancers you only have a few minutes for them to comment.

“Often we only have time for one judge so you have four people who are sitting there twiddling their thumbs.”

The source added that a four-strong panel had proved successful on shows like The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing.

The insider said: “On Strictly they all get a decent bit to say and also you remember who said what. You can also develop each one’s personality a bit better if there are fewer judges.”

The plan is at a very early stage so no decisions have been made about who would go.

The Dancing On Ice panel currently comprises Jason Gardiner, Robin Cousins, Karen Barber, Nicky Slater and Ruthie Henshall.

If the cutback happens it will be warmly welcomed by bitchy judge Jason Gardiner.

Last week he told how he thought a five-strong panel was too much. He said: “I think there are too many judges on our panel. As it is we don’t have the airtime to have a say.

“The panel needs to be cut down to three or four.

“Sometimes only one judge will get to speak and that’s not enough for me.”

ITV chiefs will no doubt give the plan some serious thought after disastrously changing the Britain’s Got Talent panel from three to four — then switching back.

They hired Kelly Brook to add some extra glamour alongside Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan.

But the plan backfired and Kelly was ditched after just a few days.

[lizann]

Ray Quinn has won Dancing On Ice, beating Jessica Taylor and Donal MacIntyre in yesterday's final.

Quinn and his partner Maria Filippov scored an unprecedented two rounds of perfect 6.0s for their routines to Take That's 'Greatest Day' and Starship's 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now'.

As he accepted his victory, Quinn said: "It's a dream come true. I'm absolutely speechless. I've been dreaming of this moment since the beginning."

Of Quinn's second performance, judge Robin Cousins said: "Absolutely magnificent. You had extra nuances and there were more minute details that we all saw. It was perfect."

MacIntyre beat Taylor to second place and Karen Barber said that the investigative journalist was "what Dancing On Ice is all about".

[miccisy]

Cant beleive Ray won. He didnt deserve to. He didnt get any better each week whereas Donal went from not being able to skate to been very good.

Why did he get 30 for his first skate?! It was by far the worst performance of the night. When he was lifted off the floor he did hardly anything yet they still said it was the best performance.

[LostVoodoo]

i dont like the flying routines, they seem totally pointless. they've spent weeks learning to skate and them all they do is waft around in the air for a couple of minutes!

[Siobhan]

The flying thing is technically more difficult than it looks as they have to make sure it is flawless between skating and take off and the landing has to be spot on too...Ray got the 30 points cause he was technically better than the rest and that is what most of the judges look for