Dan Edgar has switched The Only Way is Essex for Dancing on Ice, and admitted that the gruelling reality show wasn’t without its falls and pains

The Only Way is Essex star Dan Edgar, 34, has opened up about how training is going ahead of his Dancing on Ice debut.

The 17th series of the ITV show is set to premiere on Sunday, January 12, and the competing stars have spent Christmas perfecting their skills. Dan admitted that despite enjoying the process so far, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

“I am really enjoying it. It is tough. I am using muscles in my legs I have never used before in my life,” he told The Sun, adding: “My legs are feeling it most days. I have fallen over a couple of times. But it is mad how quickly – if you do something for two hours a day, there’s nothing in life where you really stick at it.”

Dan also shared how ice skating was a “really good workout,” and that he was excited to get the ball rolling on the final touches of his first performance. He revealed: “The whole experience… I am really grateful to have the opportunity to do it. We started our routine and I have got a wardrobe fitting soon… I am sure there will be some mad outfits.”

Dan shared that training was ‘tough,’ but that despite the falls he was enjoying the intense process ( 
Image:
danedgar/Instagram)

The star is partnered by Vanessa James Amoros, after telling producers he couldn’t partner with another pro skater ( 

This year will be slightly different for Dancing on Ice contestants, with the introduction of a 24-hour hotline for the stars of the show. The new safeguarding measure came following BBC ’s crisis with Strictly Come Dancing, after bullying claims between Giovanni Pernice and actress Amanda Abbington. A larger scale investigation was also launched and resulted in pro Graziano Di Prima being sacked for kicking TV personality Zara McDermott.

Dan and the other contestants will also be assigned a producer to ensure that their “wellbeing” is kept in check, according to reports. The TOWIE star’s main point of call will be his partner, pro skater Vanessa James Amoros. In photos from rehearsals, Dan was shown practicing his lifts with Vanessa on solid ground, before successfully taking the moves onto the ice.

Prior to joining the show, Dan reportedly made it clear that there was another Vanessa he didn’t want to partner with – Vanessa Bauer – out of loyalty to his friend and TOWIE co-star Joey Essex. Joey had a fling with Vanessa during his time on the 2023 series of the show, and Dan was keen not to create any drama.

“Dan didn’t want anything to distract him from the competition and he didn’t want to have to worry about what Joey was thinking,” a source claimed. “Why create any problems when it’s easily avoided by asking for a different dancer? Insiders say it was discussed as part of his discussions about joining the show and didn’t cause any problems.”

They added to the Sun that Dan wanted to keep things “really professional” and despite Joey and Vanessa not ending things badly, he found it the “easiest solution.” Alongside opening up about Dancing on Ice, Dan also opened up about the return of James Argent – better known as Arg – to TOWIE. He gushed to The Sun: “Yeah, the first time in six years.” Dan shared how special it was to reunite for the Christmas special, and added: “He is as original Towie as you can get. Series one, episode one and first ever scene was Arg and Mark. For Towie it is a really big thing… He has met someone and he is doing really well.”