Dancing On Ice has revealed the first contestant taking part in the upcoming series and it's a big name!
World Champion boxer Ricky Hatton MBE will be taking to the ice to compete alongside 11 other celebrities in the hopes of becoming the 2024 winner.
Holly Willoughby, who hosts the skating competition, and Ben Shephard made the announcement during Tuesday morning's edition of This Morning.
After Ricky's name was revealed, Holly said: "It's lovely to see you! I am so excited to get you on the rink," before asking the sportsman why he decided to sign up.
Ricky explained: "To set a new challenge [for myself]," he began. "It's been well-documented that I struggled with my retirement from boxing and I'm doing my little bit for mental health and trying to give a bit back now. And what I bang the drum about is, 'try to keep yourself busy'. When I was retired I sat there with nothing to do and my world fell apart.
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© ITV"So I'm all about keeping busy, keeping active, doing things that are positive for you and new ventures."
Ben interjected: "You've taken on some serious opponents in the past. Taking on the ice is a real challenge, are you much of a skater?" to which Ricky laughed: "No, not at all. I can dance on the solid floor, but it's a challenge."
He added: "If I can hold my nerve in the boxing ring I should be able to hold my nerve in the ice rink."
© Matt Frost/ITV/ShutterstockRicky competed as a professional boxer between 1997 and his retirement in 2012. Throughout his career, he held multiple world championships at light welterweight and one at welterweight. He's fought big names over the years including Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chris Eubank and Manny Pacquiao.
Dancing on Ice will return for a new series in January. The series will likely see the return of judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. In previous years, Holly Willoughby has hosted the show alongside Phillip Schofield, however, it has not been confirmed who might be replacing Phillip since his departure from ITV earlier this year amid his reported fallout with his former co-star.
© GettyPhillip stepped down from his long-running role as presenter on This Morning after tensions grew behind the scenes. He later released a statement in which he admitted to an affair between him and a production runner on the show. At the time, Holly released a statement explaining that she had previously questioned her colleague and close friend about the affair, only to be met with a denial.
"It's taken time to process yesterday's news," she wrote on Instagram. "When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It's been very hurtful to find out that was a lie. Holly."
