Dancing On Ice!!

As you know, Stuart and I went to Dancing on Ice on Sunday at Elstree Studios.  It was #AMAZEBALLS!! 🙂

When we arrived at the studios, we were like ducks out of water, as we had never done anything like it before. We went to the security hut to ask where we needed to go.. The security guy pointed us towards a door.  Through the door was a bar area and a table with about four people sitting behind with headphones on their heads. We just said Dan Whiston had organised the tickets and told them our names. We got handed two silver wrist bands with B and Dans name on them. Stuart and I put the wrist bands on and got a drink from the bar.

It was a big area with loads of tables and billboards on the walls, advertising Elstree Studios and the shows that are held there. We were one of the first ones that had arrived and sat down near the back. You soon start to realise you are in a surreal situation when Linda Lusardi, her husband Sam, who was in Brookside, and their kids walk in. Mission Celeb Spotting would commence……

I swapped seats with Stuart so I could see the door because every time I turned my head my wig was moving and it was driving me mad. The next person we recognised was Kate Garraway from Daybreak, she was with her daughter.  The next celeb we recognised was Sam Attwater, he won the show two years ago.  The room soon filled up with people and we recognised Tyler Moon from Eastenders and Sean Tully from Corrie. There were other people we thought were celebs but couldn’t quite put are finger on them.

At about 4pm we were taken up to the studio, to get there we had to walk past the Big Brother House and the George Lucas Set. The studio itself was small, you don’t get that impression when you watch it on TV. I don’t know why I expected an Olympic Size Ice Rink…lol Stuart and I sat just beside the staircase were Christine and Phil walk down and about 5 rows back. On the other side of the rink it was just a set with cameras, people, a large screen and an auto queue. The auto queue was huge, Phil and Christine definitely didn’t need glasses to read it.

An audience warmer upper called Jonny came out and his job was to get us all hyper so it sounded good on the live show. He was playing both sides of the audience of against each other and bribing us with ITV prizes. He also explained how it was going to work as some of the ‘Live’  show is actually pre- recorded. The opening of the show when the skaters had the fire and the pyrotechnics was all pre-recorded and edited together.  It was recorded in three sections. Being an audience member isn’t easy you have to clap, woop and stand up, very hard work.  After the pre-record, we went outside as the fumes from the pyrotechnics was quite bad.

About 45 minutes later we were back in our seats for the show. Jonny came back out again and explained the set up. When we could clap, woop and if the judges awarded anything from 5.0 under we had to boo and anything over cheer.  Whilst counting down for on air time the skaters where warming up on the ice and we were cheering for them. It was all so exciting!! We watched on the big screen what was being sent out on TV and in the ad breaks the skaters where back on the ice keeping warmed up. The routines were Live!! The routine that Torvill and Dean did on the night, was actually recorded the day before and not done on the night. We watched it on the big screen.

I don’t have one specific favourite as they all have their own unique qualities. People don’t realise how hard it is for the celebs to learn how to skate and do the ‘tricks’ they do in such a short space of time. I skated for over 12yrs and I still had a lot to learn, the celebs are learning this stuff in a matter of months. On the night I did love Beth and Dans’ routine, it gave me goosebumps. Brianne and Matt were theatrical and Joe and Vicky were entertaining. For an older guy Joe does good!!

After the show was aired, a lady who works for the show waved to me and Stuart to go with her. She took us backstage where we met Dan, Vicky, Beth, Matt and Robin Cousins. I was overwhelmed and had to remind myself not to talk to quick…I tend to do that when I’m nervous and no one understands me!! Lovely lovely people!! #everlastingmemories

As there was only 45mins between the show and the results show we were soon back in our seats again, after having  a quick doughnut supplied by ITV.  The two couples in the skate off were a shock and the atmosphere in the studio was tense, especially when Matt stumbled in his skate off. I couldn’t believe it. In all honesty though, I would have saved Matt too, as he is a good skater and considering the potential he has had from the start of the show.

When the results show had finished we left the studio and a bouncer checked our wristbands as we headed back towards the bar. He let us go, I actually thought he was going to stop us, but we obviously had the right coloured wristband. We grabbed a seat at a table and Stuart got us some drinks. About 20mins later the celebs from the show started coming in. I didn’t want to annoy them, but Stuart was great and just kept saying you will never get a chance like this. That’s when we got our pictures taken. The person who surprised me the most was Jason Gardiner, he was really really nice. He asked me if my wig was real and I said no he then said that his hair wasn’t real either darling. I then said oh I was worried you were going to slag the wig…lol He was the only one I said I wasn’t well too and I asked him to RT my blog, which he did. He is not ‘Mr Nasty’ at all!!

I had a lovely conversation with Christine Bleakley about Belfast, Tayto Cheese and Onion crisps, pear picking porky ice lollies and Belfast accents. Really lovely person. I spoke to Joe Pasquale and joked with him that my wig matched his purple trousers he was wearing on the show. He is just exactly how he comes across on TV, really genuine and funny.

By the time we got round everyone, it was late and we still had a 2hr journey back home. Luckily, across the road there was a McDonalds, so it was a quick stop off for some food. Sitting in the car waiting for the food it hit me where we had been and I got emotional. Then it dawned on me how completely knackered I was, but it was obviously a happy knackered!! 🙂

I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Dan Whiston via my brother in law Scott, for sorting out the tickets and allowing Stuart and I to add to our list of memories that we won’t forget. To Vicky Ogden for being soo lovely!!

We had an #AMAZEBALLS time!! 😛

xxxx