Put blades on your feet, not in your pocket

Comic on how he escaped gang culture

- KATIE BEGLEY

HE’S shed more than a stone and is in the best shape of his life, thanks to Dancing On Ice. Now comic Darren

Harriott is hoping flashing some flesh will also help him win over the mums in the audience.

But while his life is now devoted to axel jumps, sequins and winning votes each Sunday, it could very easily have been a different kind of blade that was keeping him up at night.

For aged just 14, Darren was the kind of teen most mums fear – a knife-wielding wannabe gangster, who now admits that it was a miracle he never killed anyone.

At 34, Darren hopes he can not only win over mums but also inspire troubled young men to swap knives for skates.

“If there was a kid who is in a gang and is watching me on Dancing On Ice, it would be nice to show them that things can change,” explained Darren.

“Your life can change. Things can get better. You can have more fun. I would never have thought that I would do something like this in my entire life, especially back then.

“When I was in a gang, it was all about ego. You want to be seen as tough and scary.

“Now I’m literally, by trade, a clown! It’s like, put the blades on your feet, not in your pockets.”

Growing up in a poverty stricken family in Oldbury, West Midlands, Darren saw his drug addict dad, Patrick, repeatedly jailed for dealing.