Dancing on Ice Series Four: The Contestants

Ray Quinn takes over as favourite as the men get going

If you expect a woman to win this year’s Dancing on Ice, as has been the case in two of the previous three series, then now is the perfect time to get betting. The men have already had a chance to strut their stuff and that means that the odds of initial favourite Jessica Taylor, as well as four of the other five female contestants, have all widened. Here’s our take on all of this year’s contestants:

Ray Quinn evens
The 20-year-old is a quick learner having been an award-winning child actor in Brookside, finished second to Leona Lewis in the X Factor and been in Grease in the West End. Quinn’s partner Maria Filippov has always finished in the top four and at the start of play was the only man in the top six in the betting. In the opening week, Quinn recorded the best ever first week score ever achieved by a male contestant.

Jessica Taylor 4/1
The former Liberty X singer and wife of former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen, started as favourite. Taylor first shot to fame on reality show Popstars, where she competed with last year’s winner Suzanne Shaw. The only black spot on her chances is partner Pavel Aubrecht who was eliminated third in series two and three.

Ellery Hanley 10/1
Rugby players do well on reality TV: Martin Offiah, Matt Dawson, and Austin Healey all came higher than 4th on Strictly Come Dancing and Kyran Bracken won series two of Ice. Former Great Britain rugby league international Hanley will be looking to emulate that success. The 47-year-old MBE from Leeds partners Frankie Poultney, who has never finished outside the top five and finished second with Chris Fountain last year.

Roxanne Pallett 10/1
The Emmerdale actress has previously appeared in Soapstar Superstar, finishing fourth. Her partner Daniel Whiston was victorious in series one and this will be the third successive series where he has partnered someone from Emmerdale. Pallett claims to trust him more than she has any other man in her life.

Zoe Salmon 14/1
Former Blue Peter presenter Salmon claims to be a “daredevil” and could benefit from her experiences on the kids’ TV show, although Tim Vincent lasted just five weeks last year. She has been paired with reigning champion Matt Evers, who is the only professional to have ever received a perfect score.

Gemma Bissix 14/1
The former Hollyoaks and Eastenders gold digger will look to follow in the footsteps of other soapstars (Corrie’s Gaynor Faye won series one; Hollyoak’s Chris Fountain second last year). Her partner Andrei Lipanov has experienced mixed fortunes on the show, finishing second with Clare Buckfield in series two only to be the second person eliminated last year with Natalie Pinkham.

Melinda Messenger 16/1
The mum-of-three and former Page 3 model is another with reality TV previous having finished third in the second series of Celebrity Big Brother, where fellow contestant Sue Perkins labelled her a “blonde Vulcan” for apparently lacking emotion. Glamour doesn’t win the weekend shiny floor shows – the male admirers just don’t pick up the phones. Her partner Fred Palascak came third last year.

Michael Underwood 16/1
Former children’s TV presenter Underwood will compete for the second time after being forced out of the last series with a broken ankle after just two shows, in which he ranked joint-fourth both times. He retains the same partner, Melanie Lambert, who was victorious with Kyran Bracken in series two.

Jeremy Edwards 25/1
Edwards used to appear in Hollyoaks and Holby City but is probably just as famous for once dating Strictly Come Dancing runner-up Rachel Stevens. He previously appeared on the third series of Celebrity Big Brother, where he finished fourth behind Bez, Kenzie and Brigitte Nielsen.

Coleen Nolan 25/1
The Loose Women presenter and former singer is the rank outsider but could spring a surprise. In her favour, is her popularity with ITV viewers – and we all know these shows start as a popularity contest. Unfortunately, she is 43 years old and age is a factor on reality TV: the three previous winners have all been 35 or younger. Her partner is newcomer Stuart Widdall.

Todd Carty 50/1
The former Eastenders actor survived the first week despite comfortably recording the worst score in the history of the show (7.5). Kay Burley lasted until week five and Aggie MacKenzie until week four after recording the lowest opening score in the last two series but it’s unlikely Carty will go any further than that.

Donal MacIntyre 50/1
MacIntyre is an Irish investigative journalist who has been mixing his training on the ice with trips to Latin America’s largest prison and interviews with gangsters. One lucky omen for MacIntyre is that he was born in Dublin, as was the only previous male winner Kyran Bracken. His opening performance, for which he ranked second bottom, suggests he won’t be chalking up victory number two for the Irish capital however.

Click here to check out all the latest odds on Dancing on Ice 2009

Posted: January 13th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn |