danny young

DANNY YOUNG
AGE: 23
OCCUPATION: ACTOR
SKATING PARTNER: FRANKIE POULTNEY

“It’s not as if I am ever going to do this again so I’ll happily embrace the costumes and it’s going to be gold lame and feather boas all the way for me!”

Former Coronation Street star Danny Young (who played footy-mad Warren Baldwin) has very special reason for doing the show – he will be skating in the memory of his much-loved grandmother.

‘My nan passed away a little while ago and she was a massive fan of Torvill and Dean. So that was one the reasons I wanted to be on the show and I will be doing it for her. When I was offered the job I saw that as a little bit of a sign and, bless her, she would have been buzzing if she knew I was working with Jayne and Chris. She would’ve been so happy for me. So while I’m sad she won’t be in the audience to see me strut my stuff, I’m sure she’ll be watching down on me from somewhere and cheering me on!’

‘The thing is that if I fall over in training with Frankie then we have a laugh about it. But if I fall over on the first live show it could mean that I get low scores, the public may think I’m not very good and my journey could be over all because I fell. So it all starts to get very serious and I don’t want to make a total plum of myself.

‘Everyone keeps asking me if I think I’m one of the best skaters but from the few bits I’ve seen of the other contestants I would say I’m around the middle mark. Actually, so long as I don’t get voted off in the first week and as long as I have time to improve as the weeks go by then I’ll be happy. Am I competitive? I think all blokes are. But I’m not striving to win at the moment. Of course I’d be well chuffed and amazed and really happy if I did. But you know what, as long as I don’t walk off the ice thinking ‘if only I’d worked harder’ then I’ll be a happy bunny. So long as I think ‘I did all I can do but there are better people than me’ then that’s fair enough.

‘To be honest, my first time on the ice was very scary. I was chit – chatting and waddling around and unsure I was going to be able to do it. You do kind of think you’re never going to get any better. So now I have improved I am definitely enjoying it more. Every day I wake up and I’m looking forward to skating.

‘But at the same time I am mentally and physically drained. I had no idea how full-on it would be when I signed up. Because I go to the gym quite a lot and I play a lot of football, I thought I’d be able to cope with the training, but I was clearly wrong. When you’re skating you are using totally different muscles to any other kind of sport, so after every training session my knees – and most of the rest of my body actually – are constantly aching. Going to the gym is child’s play compared to this and anyone who looks down on ice skating as an easy option should give it a go. They might be in for a shock because it’s easily the most gruelling thing I have ever done.’

While his grandmother may not be there to see him skate, the rest of Danny’s family are looking forward to being in the front row and cheering him on. He says:

‘My mum is very excited, bless her cotton socks. But she’s always behind me, with her I could say I’m going to sell lemonade on the other side of the street and she’d be proud of me. My dad is really getting into it too and he’s now calling me his very own little Billy Elliott.

‘I think once all my friends and family see me in the costumes I’ll never hear the end of it. But I am going to embrace the sequins – the costume guy asked me if I had a problem with a bit of sparkle and I just thought: ‘Do you know what? This is a once in a lifetime experience – just go for it.’ It’s not as if I am ever going to do this again so I’ll happily embrace the costumes and it’s going to be gold lame and feather boas all the way for me!’