DANCING ON ICE stars Patsy Palmer and Joey Essex will skate with two show legends when the hit series returns in January, The Celeb Report can reveal.
Viewers will be thrilled to find out ice hunk Matt Evers is returning and will glide onto the rink with ex EastEnders actress Patsy, 50.
EastEnders star Patsy Palmer will make her Dancing on Ice debut in January
Joey Essex has teased his Dancing on Ice partner on Instagram
The American trained up Coronation Street veteran Sally Dynevor last year and made history in 2020 as one half of DOI’s first all-male pairing with Steps singer Ian “H” Watkins.
A source said: “Patsy and Matt have become besties in LA and Matt’s even mastered the cockney accent!
“After being paired up with a Corrie Legend last year, he can’t believe he’s got EastEnders gold this year with Bianca.”
Meanwhile ex Towie star Joey has landed show siren and former champ Vanessa Bauer.
HEATING UP
DOI's Michelle Heaton wows in crop top and matching leggings as she hits the gym
Joey, 32, shared his excitement in a joint post with Vanessa on Instagram this afternoon.
He posed for beaming snaps during their first training session together and said: “Ice to meet you!”
He’ll be in good hands with German born Vanessa, 26, who won DOI in 2018 with X Factor star Jake Quickenden.
Jake immediately backed them to take home the 2023 trophy, writing beneath their post: “Could have called it. Go get them trophies!”
Vanessa has seen three of her male celebrity skating buddies suffer break-ups after hitting the rink with her.
Jake Quickenden split with Daniella Forgarty a month after pairing up with Vanessa in 2018, while a year later Love Island star Wes Nelson dumped Megan Barton Hanson after competing in DOI with Vanessa.
In 2020, her celeb partner, Emmerdale’s Joe-Warren Plant split from his long-term girlfriend Nicole Hadlow in 2020.
But Vanessa says none was down to her — and she is always keen to reassure any worried girlfriends.
She previously told The Celeb Report: “I can understand why my partners’ girlfriends find it difficult. We spend so much time together rehearsing.
BUST MUST
People say I go from an average 5 to a full-on 10 just by taking off my sweater
“We’re telling a story on the ice, and it’s nothing more than that, but you have to try to come across as genuine.
“It’s a performance but it’s created to make the love story real for the audience. We are acting on the ice.”
Joey Essex will skate with Dancing on Ice professional and former champ Vanessa Bauer
Joey and Vanessa posed on the ice today as they announced the news
Ian Watkins and Matt Evers competed in 2020
