Dancing on Ice 2023: Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson says training for ITV show puts ‘pressure’ on his back

Nile Wilson has had an excellent start in the new ITV series of Dancing On Ice.

The Olympic bronze medalist, 27, from Leeds, is currently the bookies favourite to win the competition with his professional skating partner Olivia Smart.

In the first week of the competition the pair wowed the judges with their performance to ‘Harry Styles - Sign of the Times’. The dance couple won an overall score of 29.5 which put them top of the leaderboard.

The gymnast boasts a huge 1.5 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and 493,000 followers on Instagram.

Nile took time out of his busy training schedule to speak exclusively to Yorkshire Evening Post about all the behind the scenes gossip and why he thinks Joey Essex is his biggest competitor.

Nile admitted that he is “very, very excited and buzzing to be competing in this year’s” Dancing On Ice competition, as “it’s right up my street” with learning a new sport it’s everything he could’ve wanted from the experience.

Have you watched any of the previous series?

“I’ve seen the previous series of the show and absolutely love it. I think it’s one of the most challenging series on television just because of starting from scratch and having to learn how to ice skate – it’s not the easiest of things to pick up,” Nile said.

Nile explained that this year there are some very strong contenders and even though they all feel like a family there is a bit of competition between them.

He said: “I think Joey Essex is going to be a great contender, everyone is brilliant, but I’ve seen from bits of training The Vivienne is fantastic. And we’ll see! I’m not too focused about the competition but just what I’m doing and my process and becoming the best I can be.”

Do you feel that your gymnastic background gives you an advantage?

“There is some transferrable skills from gymnastics mainly just the body awareness and balance. Do I think it’s an advantage? Definitely not. You know, skating is a completely new thing, you’re on blades on the slippiest surface known to humans and I’m very aware there’s a mountain I’ve got to climb which is going to be so challenging!”

Speaking about his experience so far, he added: “There’s been so many incredible elements. I’ve absolutely loved the process of training and the routine again but I have to say, after having experienced the first show and performing.

“My favourite part so far is just the feeling of going out there in front of an audience, having worked hard and just performing a routine and the feeling that brings, and just the excitement, the nerves and the adrenalin. I absolutely love it.”

Speaking of the gruelling training the contestants endure, Nile said: “We’re doing 10-20 hours a week depending on how much we need. On the ice 2-3 hours a day, it is gruelling. I think it’s very different from my gymnastics training.

“You have different aches and pains and challenges. It’s more leg and lower body dominant. The cramps in the feet, the cold, it’s so different.”

He added: “ I’m used to training in a warm, sweaty gym with my top off so now being completely shivering and freezing has been challenging to adapt to and it’s lots of hard work.”

Dancing On Ice has been dubbed the most dangerous show on TV with many past and present contestants suffering some gruesome injuries. Nile revealed that so far he has only suffered “aches and pains”.

Nile said: “My lower back is very sore a lot of the time. I think the position you’ve got to be in skating is so different to the position my body’s been in in the gymnastic background for 20 years so it has put a lot of pressure on my lower back.”

“I’ve fallen hundreds of times and often because I’m safely manoeuvring my way out, I have to land on my left hip so that’s been a bit of a challenge. I feel like I’ve definitely bruised a bone in my left hip.

“So no injuries yet, touch wood, fingers crossed. But the more the risks that I’m going to take and the more I push myself I’m very aware that these skills are very challenging and I have to be very safe.”

How have you found working with your partner Olivia Smart?

“Being with a partner has been such a different experience for me. I’ve always been alone and performed alone. I think the experience of just getting to know someone in such a short period of time and spending so much time with them, you really have to have a lot of communication, trust and belief in each other and that goes both ways.

“It’s been a great experience, Olivia couldn’t be a better partner, I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I think we really gelled and connected instantly with our backgrounds and just with the type of personalities we are, we’re great and I can’t wait to see how far our partnership can go.”

What does your family and girlfriend think of you doing Dancing on Ice?

“My family and girlfriend absolutely love that I’m on the show, they’re so proud of me. Again, it’s another process with such a close family and a unit and it’s another process that we can enjoy together and experience together. They’re gonna back me 100% all of the way and I really feel that support. I owe everything I’ve ever achieved to my family and I love them very much.”

Will we be seeing you at the next Olympics as a figure skater?

Nile said: “I think I’ve missed the boat if I’m honest, it’s not something I’ve thought about whatsoever! I love the process, I’m trying to become the best that I can be in the time we’ve got in Dancing on Ice. And who knows? I maybe have opened a door for myself in the future of skating and a different avenue of life that I love. And we’ll see. Maybe in a few year’s time I’ll still be skating.”

What made you choose Dancing on Ice over other reality shows?

“I think the thing I love the most is that real sport, skill-based aspect to it and the process of really learning a new skill from scratch, the progress. My gymnastics background I was just obsessed with learning new skills, new gymnastic skills everyday, and I really enjoy it. That’s why I think Dancing on Ice is up my street. It’s everything I’ve ever hoped for.”

Nile is the proud owner of three gymnastics clubs with Nile Wilson Gymnastics in Leeds, Rotherham and Coventry.

Fans will be happy as Nile admitted he’s “not done with gymnastics just yet, whether that’s performing again, who knows but it’s certainly innovating the sport still and trying to take it to a different level.”

Watch Dancing on Ice, Sundays at 6:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX1