‘I WON'T TAKE RISKS ON THE ICE – FOR MY DAUGHTER'S SAKE!'

ACTRESS DENISE VAN OUTEN SPEAKS TO OK! ABOUT PLAYING IT SAFE ON DANCING ON ICE WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH HER FELLOW CONTESTANTS AND WHY SHE’S DETERMINED NOT TO GIVE IN TO MIDDLE-AGE SPREAD

- RHONA MERCER

Denise Van Outen is sipping a cup of tea at her home in Chelmsford, Essex, when we catch up with her over the phone. But it’s clear this is the calm before the storm and life’s about to get way more hectic as she’s started training for Dancing On Ice!

Denise tells us she’s “really excited” about being on the show she’s watched over the years with her 10-year-old daughter, Betsy. And the actress clearly feels she has struck gold by being partnered with Matt Evers – who she already knew – telling us, “I adore him.”

Which is lucky – as he’s moved in with Denise, 46, her partner Eddie Boxshall, 45, and Betsy for the duration of their training.

But Denise reveals the one thing she doesn’t want to do while training is to lose weight. After all, she spent lockdown working out with a personal trainer in the knowledge she’d be donning a pair of fishnets for her stint in socially distanced London show Cabaret All-Stars.

Here, she tells us about her friendship with the other DOI contenders, why she has childcare covered thanks to Eddie and Betsy’s dad, her ex-husband Lee Mead, her fear of taking on anything too dangerous and how recording a podcast saved her sanity during lockdown…

Are you nervous about doing Dancing On Ice, Denise?