Colin Jackson talks 'giggles' on Dancing on Ice

Athletics star-turned-amateur ice-skater Colin Jackson has confessed that he and Dancing On Ice Goes Gold partner Frankie Poultney can't stop giggling during training. Former Olympic silver medallist Colin is taking part in a special one-off edition of the ITV1 show to mark the beginning of the Games with fellow athletes including javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson and rower Steve Williams. But the 45-year-old admitted: "Frankie and I get on like a house on fire. I know who's the boss and it's definitely not me, that's for sure. It would be so much better if we spent more time ice skating instead of laughing, we have a proper giggle." Colin, who will be skating to September by Earth, Wind And Fire, added: "It's far more tiring than I ever thought it would be. It's very exhausting." Meanwhile Tessa, 56, said she was having a "heavenly" time. "It's really fun, it's graceful and it's lovely to see the different age groups that are involved and that's what I love, it's a real mix." She added: "This is a very nerve-wracking game and my sporting background helps me to be patient. It helps me to understand that it's not just going to happen after a week. I hope it'll drag out that competitive element because right now I'm not even thinking about it." Dancing On Ice Goes Gold is on ITV1 on Sunday, July 22.

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.