hilary jones

DR HILARY JONES
AGE: 56
OCCUPATION: GMTV DOCTOR
SKATING PARTNER: ALEXANDRA SHAUMAN

“Have I got rhythm? I don’t know yet. I’ve certainly never been complimented on my dancing. I would say I’m not quite Mr Bean but neither am I John Travolta.”

GMTV medic Hilary Jones has revealed the main thing that’s worrying him about going on Dancing On Ice is whether he will even be able to stay upright.

‘To sum things up I would say progress has been slow. Four weeks ago I couldn’t even stand up on the frozen water and but now I can put my boots on on my own which is a major step forward…’ he jokes. ‘I think I spent the first three weeks thinking what the hell have I done and I would say it’s only in the last week that I’ve started to enjoy the experience, so I’m slightly nervous about what those pesky judges are going to make of my skating style.

‘I’ve always been a fairly humble kind of bloke and the judges know what they are talking about, so if they want to tell me I am rubbish then I will accept that I am. And if they take the mickey then I will understand that too, because that’s probably exactly what I would do in their position, so it’s par for the cause. But it will be intriguing to see what they have to say and if they can find anything vaguely good to say then I will be thrilled.

‘My other problem is that because you’re training under the gaze of a professional skater all the time who is watching your every move, they have to keep saying to me: ‘Hilary, it’s quite important to breathe.’ Because I’m concentrating so hard I keep holding my breath, I’m not even conscious of it. So I am clearly quite tense when I’m on the ice.

‘Have I got rhythm? I don’t know yet. I’ve certainly never been complimented on my dancing. I would say I’m not quite Mr Bean but neither am I John Travolta so it remains to be seen whether I have rhythm and I’m still trying to stand up vertically on the ice so there’s a long way to go yet. At the moment I’ll be quite happy if I manage to stay upright. I’d be really chuffed if that happened because I would really rather not make a total ass of myself.’

Hilary has been throwing himself into the Dancing On Ice experience with gusto:

‘I’ve probably been on ice for a total of 20 minutes in my entire life. That would’ve been on an ice rink on a skiing trip at school over thirty years ago and maybe once for a GMTV production a few years ago where I just had to stand there. I didn’t actually have to skate. So that, combined with maybe slipping on ice on a cold winter’s morning outside my front door, is the extent of my experience.

‘I do believe that not enough doctors actually practice what they preach and get off their bums and do something to keep fit. So part of my reason for doing this was to show people how good it is to do some exercise and that you can have some fun at the same time.

‘Plus I’ve always thought it’s important to learn something new every now and again. My main sport used to be rowing, I’ve learnt to play squash and enjoyed that, I swam the Great North Swim at Lake Windermere this year and last year and learning to windsurf was great as well. So when a challenge like this comes along and it’s something you’ve never done and never considered before, you have to give it a go. Where else would you get the chance to have a champion figure skater teach you to skate for two hours a day?

‘It’s a great opportunity but I don’t think people realise how full-on exercise skating is because it looks quite easy, but by God it is the most difficult sport I have ever attempted by far. Because when I play squash I don’t care how I look. I just play the game. Here you’ve not only got to skate, you’ve got to look stylish as well. It’s no good just getting around quickly. You’ve actually got to look graceful and smile and (as I mentioned before) remember to breathe all at the same time. There’s an awful lot to think about and I think the reason some of us feel so tired after a training session is that the concentration required is so intense, there is a lot of mental skill required as well. But I think perhaps breathing is the most important thing for me at the moment – I don’t think I’ll get very far if I forget to breathe!’