'I've never skated comedically before'

Dancing On Ice professional skater Vanessa Bauer chats about how it’s a laugh a minute with her celeb partner

- EVE MACDONALD

Dancing On Ice returns to our screens in January, bringing all the usual thrills, spills, gossip and sparkle – and one professional skater who’s thrilled to be back is Vanessa Bauer. “Every year’s so different and this one has already been a lot of fun,” she tells new when we catch up with her on a video call during a break from the intense rehearsals.

The 28-year-old German skater has made a splash since she joined the show in 2018. She won with X Factor singer Jake Quickenden in her first year and has reached the final multiple times, most recently with Made In Chelsea’s Miles Nazaire in 2024. And there have been rumours of Vanessa growing close to some of her celeb skating partners along the way.

This time, she’s hitting the ice with former Love Island star Chris Taylor and she says so far it’s been non-stop laughter. “Chris loves to slide, so I think there’ll be a few knee slides in our upcoming routines,” she says.

Away from the rink, Vanessa has had her fair share of heartache to contend with. Her dad died from cancer in 2021 and to honour his memory, and raise awareness for children’s bereavement charity Grief Encounter, she joined a charity trek in Slovenia.

Here, she talks about why her dad will always be her biggest supporter and what fans can expect from the new series…

Hi Vanessa! How’s training going?

Great, I love it. Chris has really kept me laughing on the ice. He’s so funny, which has really helped on training days.

Is his humour better than his skating?