Dancing On Ice 2008: Chris Fountain

Hollyoaks pin up Chris Fountain, 20, reveals his previous training as a hockey player has actually been a hindrance when learning the tricky routines for the new series of Dancing On Ice.

“I think I’m falling more than everybody else, my boots are a bit scratched and my laces are a bit knackered but everything’s going alright apart from that! The last time I skated before I started training for Dancing On Ice was about three years ago when I was playing hockey. I played hockey for two years for Bradford and I enjoyed it but it’s completely different to what I’m doing now. The blades are different, the stance is different, the speed and the way you use your arms is different, basically it’s like a completely different sport except you’re on the ice. The coach said it might have been easier if I couldn’t skate at all because they have to change what I already know and that’s kind of harder than having to learn it from scratch.”

Best known for his role as the rebellious teen Justin Burton in C4’s Hollyoaks, Chris had previously featured in a number of dramas including Where The Heart Is,The Royal, and Bob and Rose, and recently took centre stage in the BBC’s singing competition, Just the Two Of Us.

But he admits that skating partner Frankie Poultney is already keeping him on his toes and has warned the actor that dropping her is not an option, especially if he wants to keep his teeth.

“Frankie and I get on really, really well.We have a great banter and always take the mickey out of each other all the time. She said if I drop her we’ll both lose our teeth - she’ll lose them when she falls and I’ll lose them when she gets up, so I try not to drop her!”

And this friendship is extending out of ice training as Chris has taken Frankie under his wing and the duo take regular trips to the cinema to wind down from their training.

“Frankie is staying up in Leeds by herself so we went to the cinema a couple of times.I’m trying to make the effort to make her feel like she’s not alone.”

Born three years after Torvill and Dean’s triumph in the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984, Chris admits it was his mum who first explained who the famous duo were and how he struggled to remember the name of their legendary routine.

“The only kind of memory of Torvill and Dean I have was when I first ever went skating my mum said,‘oh you can be like Christopher Dean’ and I was like,‘I don’t know who that is’, and then she told me and I was like,‘cool’. I made a fatal mistake when I first came here and kept on calling the Bolero, the Burrito. I didn’t know what it was, I was born in 1987. I know what it is now, it’s not a Burrito and not the beef wrap they have in Mexico.”

Chris admits that he’s nervous about the first live show and is hoping that the public will get behind him.

“I’m dreading falling over on the live shows and I don’t want to go out first either. I really, really don’t want to go out first because all my mates are going and they’ll take the mickey out of me.It’ll just be like I’ve trained for three months to go out on the first week. It’ll really upset me, so please vote for me. I was looking forward to the outfits,but not now. I’m looking forward to getting to the studio.We’ve got our first routine which is really difficult. I have to do some spinning lifts with Frankie, but when practicing I had to come off the ice because I fell and landed on my shoulder. Luckily it’s better now.”

Whilst he is thoroughly enjoying his experience so far, Chris admits a recent knee injury has been a low point.

“I had to stop training for a couple of days because I fell and hurt my knee. In a warm up I did a turn and I landed funny and I pulled my knee. I had to come off the ice and I’d only been on 10 minutes.”

Having briefly met the other competitors, Chris reveals that Greg Rusedski and Suzanne Shaw are his main rivals.

“I’ve not seen everybody skate yet, Greg’s coming along really well and I’ve seen Suzanne Shaw on the ice before and she looks really good.”

But he’s hoping the fact that he’s a natural perfectionist will help to give him the edge over his competitors.

“I’ve kind of already had a little bit of an advantage by being able to skate but that’s the thing I’m finding the hardest - normal skating and looking nice, it’s not what I’m used to. I try to do as much training as I can. I’m a real perfectionist - if I can’t do something then I’ll try and try. Sometimes Frankie will say,‘let’s get off’ and I’ll be like ‘no, I’m not getting off until I’ve done it’. If I can’t do something the first time it really gets to me, so that’s kind of an advantage because I like to be able to do stuff.”

Having watched last year’s final, Chris’s hope of dazzling the audience with his body popping is now definitely out of the question.

“I liked Kyran (Bracken) because he was doing all the body popping and stuff and I can do that. I saw him at the National TV Awards and I said ‘I can’t do that now you’ve done it’ and he replied:‘oh no do it, do it.’ But I don’t want to steal his thunder by doing it so I’ve got to find a new move now.”