Phillip Schofield has revealed that ‘Dancing On Ice’ will have an "ice cam" for the first time.
The popular ITV skating show returns on Sunday (06.01.19), and the TV star revealed some exciting new developments for the new series, which includes a cameraman following the couples on the rink to bring viewer closer to the action.
Appearing on ITV’s ‘This Morning’, he said: "Happy New Year! It’s only right and proper that my first bit of TV I do after Christmas and New Year should be with you guys [on] ‘This Morning’!
"And yes, it’s a brand new rink. It’s more substantial than it was last year, you may remember, we had a rattling problem with the howling winds, so we’ve rebuilt the studio, the studio audience has a capacity of 530 so it’s bigger than it was last year, and for the first time ever we’ve got an ‘ice cam’.
"This is a bit of a twist for us, and as you can see the celebs are rehearsing and Jordan [ice cam] can be on the ice with the skaters."
Phillip, 56, also joked about the amount of makeup and accessories used for the glamorous show even before the first episode.
He added: "I was given a piece of paper earlier on, and you know we are known for fake tan and hairspray and all that sort of stuff, but we’ve actually used 100 cans of hairspray, 200 pairs of false eyelashes, and that’s even before the series has started, so what the hell they’ve been doing with that lot I have no idea!"
Meanwhile, the star admitted he almost considered a run on the ice after skating with former co-host Christine Bleakley – who appeared on the show from 2012 to 2014 – but conceded he thought he was doing better than he actually was.
He said: "Well you know me, initially I wasn’t allowed because of the health and safety, and then we were actively encouraged, so I did get on with Christine Bleakley when she was hosting the show with me, but quite frankly the greatest disappointment for me is that I rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed [the routine] with Christine… and I thought that went really well. Then I watched it back and I was going so slow!"
‘Dancing On Ice’ returns on Sunday (06.01.19) at 6pm.