THE NEW Torvill & Dean?

Ice-skating star Billy WilsonFrench on his dream of following in Christopher Dean’s footsteps…

- HANNAH DAVIES

FREEZE

NEW SATURDAY / BBC3 / 9PM / EP 1 of 4 / FACTUAL

As the Winter Olympics get underway in Beijing, there’s already a new crop of rising British figure skating stars dreaming of future glory at the Games.

Among them is teenage ice sensation Billy Wilson-French and his new ice-dance partner, USA junior bronze medallist Katarina DelCamp, who are featured in BBC3 series Freeze: Skating on the Edge.

The first batch of episodes follows an elite group of young athletes from across the UK over 12 months as they battle it out for the chance to represent Team GB on the international stage.

So could Billy and Kat become the next Torvill and Dean? Here, Barnsley-born Billy, 18, tells TV Times about their intense training regime and the moment when 1984 gold medallist and Dancing on Ice judge Christopher Dean became their coach…

How did you first get into ice-skating, Billy? I was invited to my primary school friend’s birthday party at an ice rink when I was 11, and I loved it!

It also turned out that I was quite good, so my parents then bought me some lessons.