Steve Backley has faced his fourth skate off tonight, and finally his luck ran out when he found himself up against Coronation Street actress Zaraah Abrahams.

It was no surprise that all the judges chose to save Zaraah. Steve has been skating on thin ice (did you like what I did there?) for weeks now.

Jason Gardiner said: “This is one Boomerang that’s not coming back.”

On hearing the news, Steve said: “I’m disappointed to go and there is no getting away from that. I am gutted. Having the prosthetic hip is a big deal, my stumbling block is getting over that but I am delighted to have got this far. To have worked with all these people, Chris and Jayne as well and even the judges.”

The worst part of the whole show was watching Steve’s young daughter in floods of tears when she heard her dad had lost. It almost had me blubbing into my wad of toilet roll!

Tonight, TV presenter Tim Vincent became the fifth celebrity to leave ITV’s Dancing On Ice.

At the end of the results show, Tim Vincent and Steve Backley found themselves in the skate off having received the least public votes. It was a unanimous decision from the judges and they all chose to save Steve Backley.

Tim Vincent: “It’s been fantastic every week been fantastic but I’ve found my level this week, everyone has been brilliant.”

To be honest I think that once again the judges made the right decision, not only was Tim a pretty bad skater, but with his frequent trips to America, he never seemed as committed to the show as some of the other celebs. I’m glad that Steve made it through AGAIN!

Dancing On Ice bosses are said to have approached X Factor choreographer, Brian Friedman and asked him to help competitor Steve Backley with his dance moves.

Steve came in the bottom two couples last week, and has consistently been told that he needs to loosen up.

A source told The Sun: “Steve’s skating is fine but he’s useless at the dance side. Steve sees Brian as his secret weapon. He is desperate not to be in the bottom two again this week.”

If Brian gets a minute, he should also give some much needed help to Greg Rusedski, he dances like a polar bear!

He may have been European champion four times over, won the Commonwealth Games three times, and medalled at three consecutive Olympic Games but now Steve Backley, 38, faces his toughest challenge yet as he swaps his javelin spear for a pair of ice- skating boots.

Despite being a competitive sportsman, Steve feels that he is at a disadvantage:

“Being a complete novice, being six foot five and sixteen stone does not do me any favours on Dancing on Ice. I’m a complete fish out of water. I’m scared to death. I’m absolutely scared sh*tless.”

Partnered with Susie, Steve shares a similar worry to the other male skaters – dropping their female partner.

“Susie is fantastic. She is the absolute perfect partner.When I first met her I thought ‘she’s very sweet’ but she’s hilarious as well. She’s so funny we just laugh at every training session. She’s a Geordie and that’s my roots – I’m a Geordie and my parents are Geordies. You do feel that sense of responsibility though. I’m very aware of the fact that Susie’s up there and it’s a long way to fall. She’s a very brave girl, they’re all very brave. I’ve only dropped her once, only the once, and that was a shame.”

Steve is enjoying learning a new skill and is dedicated to perfecting his routines and unusually for a male competitor is looking forward to the glitz and glamour of the competition.

“I’ve woken up every morning wanting to go and skate and actually if I’m on the ice between say eight and eleven and it gets to five to eleven I’m going ‘damn! I’ve only got five minutes left, I don’t want to leave’. They have to drag me off the ice.

“I’m kind of enjoying all of it.Athletics isn’t very showbizzy and this is,and that is the unknown for me.All the bling and the smiles and the ‘lights, camera, action’ is all very exciting. I’m interested in being in a sporting contest but also in a glitz and glamour context.”

Steve is expecting jibes from his mates but knows that really they are all behind him.

“I think even if your mates are giving you a bit of stick about being dressed in Lycra and doing all your stuff,they’re laughing but in a kind of ‘oh good on you’ sort of thing. It’s a bit of fun and you don’t take yourself too seriously, you’re learning a skill and mixing with some lovely people so it’s great.”

However, the Olympic medallist is feeling sleep deprived and is struggling to eat enough to keep his weight up.

“They’re telling me that I’m wasting away because it is so energy consuming.I can’t eat enough to keep the weight on me.”

Despite being friends with the other boys, Steve sees Greg Rusedski and Hollyoaks’ Chris Fountain as his biggest threats.

“Chris and Greg are better skaters than me. I will work as hard as I possibly can to minimise the gap but I don’t think I have any edge other than presenting the skating that I can do, as well as I possibly can do it.”

Despite his competitive streak, Steve isn’t too worried if he is voted out of the competition first.

“I’m looking forward to watching everyone else dance.I hope I go first so I can sit on the side and just kind of put my jacket on, sit nice and quietly and really enjoy the show.”

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean return ready to put a brand new team of well known names through their paces to prepare them for the ultimate live ice dancing championship.

This year the Dancing On Ice twelve contestants are: Javelin champion Steve Backley, Hollyoaks actor Chris Fountain, pop star Gareth Gates, TV presenter Sarah Greene, Emmerdale actress Linda Lusardi, TV presenter and cleaning guru Aggie Mackenzie, singer Samantha Mumba, TV presenter Natalie Pinkham, tennis star Greg Rusedski, singer and actress Suzanne Shaw, GMTV reporter Michael Underwood, and TV presenter Tim Vincent. Check our site tomorrow for the full celebrity profiles and official Dancing On Ice pictures.

With expectation higher than ever, and performances set to be even more spectacular, our twelve novice skaters have their work cut out to make the grade. Paired with a champion skating partner, and coached by the superstar duo, they will take to the rink, hoping to impress with their glittering costumes, daring moves and slick routines.

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby preside and each week our resident panel of expert judges will scrutinise every dance, hoping to be increasingly dazzled by the thrill, speed and grace of the live ice performance.

Each week it’s up to the viewers to judge the talent and make the final decision on who should skate on… or off the championship.

11 million viewers tuned in to see ex-England rugby ace Kyran Bracken crowned Dancing On Ice champion 2007 after a nail-biting contest which saw him fight it out against Clare Buckfield and Duncan James, as each performed their own version of Torvill and Dean’s legendary Bolero.

Jayne Torvill said: “It’s fantastic to be back after the success of the first series and we are looking forward to joining a new batch of celebrities on the ice.”

Christopher Dean said: “We have a great mix of stars from the worlds of sport, radio and TV who have the potential to match some of the outstanding talent we saw on the first series.”

With the bar raised, and competitiveness at a peak, how will our new celebrity skaters fare under the spotlight?