Hurdler Colin Jackson and skier Graham Bell latest stars to join Dancing on Ice

Former Olympic athlete Colin Jackson and skier Graham Bell have become the seventh and eighth celebrities to join Dancing on Ice.

They join other contestants including TV presenter Denise van Outen and singer Myleene Klass on next year's edition of the ITV show, which pits figure-skating stars against each other.

Jackson and Bell announced that they would be taking part this year on BBC Breakfast.

Five time Olympic skier Bell told presenters John Kay and Sally Nugent: "Ice doesn't scare me, it's the dancing whereas I know you can dance, Colin."

He admitted his dancing skills were limited, joking that the most he had done was "dancing on tables, wearing ski boots in après ski. It's not graceful and elegant."

The two sportsmen are well known to each other. "Colin is an excellent pupil because I actually coached him on Ski Sunday in 2007 and he's one of the trainees that takes on information so well," he said.

Jackson, an Olympic silver medal-winning hurdler, said: "The first thing for us all is to get used to our boots. I don't know if you've tried ice skating boots but they are pretty tight so we've got to get our feet in there and start getting used to balancing on them. We won't get onto the ice fully until the middle of October."

The two-time world champion added: "I can do a little bit of skating. I think with sport in itself you've certainly got a bit of balance and that will be transferable in this circumstance. How much dancing we'll do, who knows?! We'll see how the choreography goes."

"I'm going to try and that's the most important thing. You go out there, you enjoy yourself and you learn a new skill and to hone the skill of skating will just be a huge, huge plus. I'm looking forward to it," he said.

Twelve celebrities skate live each week with professional partners in front of the the panel of judges and the viewers.

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby present the show. Torvill and Dean, John Barrowman and Ashley Banjo are the judges.

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