sinitta

SINITTA
AGE: 41
OCCUPATION: SINGER
SKATING PARTNER: ANDREI LIPANOV

“I don’t care how crazy, silly, ridiculous or mad I look, I would definitely want to break out one of my most bonkers Sinitta outfits “

After a lifetime of fabulous outfits culminating in the wonderfully jaw-dropping ensemble worn on The X Factor this year, where a naked Sinitta was clad only in some carefully arranged palm leaves, it’s probably no surprise that it was the costumes rather than the skating that initially attracted the 80s popstar to Dancing On Ice.

‘I would place the blame squarely on the costumes for the fact that I’m doing this show because when the idea came up, that’s all I was seeing. All I could think about was me twirling about on the ice looking pretty in lovely sparkly dresses. I didn’t really think about the skating bit…’ she admits, laughing.

‘So I’ve promised the producers that if by some miracle I was to do extremely well in the show then I would want to go for it with the costumes. I don’t care how crazy, silly, ridiculous or mad I look, I would definitely want to break out one of my most bonkers Sinitta outfits and celebrate any success I might have in style.’

While the So Macho singer seems to have got the costume situation in hand, she reveals that learning to skate has been much more of a challenge.

‘I wanted to do the show because I’m a big fan, particularly watching Ray Quinn last year who was our baby when he was in our category on The X Factor. He was just a little boy when we worked with him and then watching him transform into this muscled hunk spinning girls around and doing split jumps and landing on one blade on Dancing On Ice – well, I got so emotional I actually cried watching him in the final.

‘I suppose because it all looks so beautiful on TV and the skaters look so lovely spinning around it made me think: ‘Oh I want to do that.’ But you forget that it involves a lot of hard work. What I realise now is that it’s one thing to be watching it at home on the sofa and a very different thing to be on the ice actually doing it.

‘My first major fall happened the very first time I went on the ice with Torvill and Dean. At the time I was so embarrassed that I tried not to make a fuss but I was really in pain actually. Interestingly the only other time I’ve fallen was in front of them again when we had to show them what we’d learned over the last five weeks and for the first time ever Andrei and I fell on top of each other. I don’t know why but Jayne and Chris just seem to have this effect on me. I must keep away from them in the future!’ She jokes.

‘As someone who is used to performing, being on the ice is quite frustrating for me because in my head it’s all wonderful and you can really feel the music and you want to perform it to the best of your ability. But of course when you get out there on the ice suddenly you are like this person who doesn’t have any feet. You’ve got blades instead, which changes everything. So I think I need to ease up on myself and understand that restriction instead of thinking that I can somehow overcome it.

‘I’m definitely getting better every week but I got very, very frustrated the other day and was on the brink of tears trying to learn to let go and do these three turns on my own. It’s very frightening and I just kept thinking I was going to break my neck so the fear and frustration was overwhelming and I think it all started to get to me. Then there was another time a few weeks ago when I had horrible flu and I had to go to rehearsals in a surgical mask type thing so I wouldn’t give it to Andrei and it was laughable because I just looked so ridiculous. I was so sick that in any normal circumstances I would’ve stayed at home in bed. But because I can’t bear to miss a day of skating and I get in such a panic about being behind, I couldn’t stay in bed. I was having anxiety attacks so I got out of bed, put on the mask and turned up at skating and tried not to sneeze all over him.

‘I can’t even bring myself to think about the live shows – I find it laughable that I’m going to be skating on TV in front of an audience of millions and that it’s supposed to be entertainment. Well, it will be entertainment but probably not in the way I intended. Actually, I’ve been told I’m quite elegant on the ice but I’ve got this riot going on in my head – it feels explosive and crazy and really stressful, because there’s just so much to remember. So while I’m loving the challenge, it just feels utterly crazy that we’re going to be doing this live on television.’

After sitting behind the X Factor judges every week and seeing the contestants’ fear up-close, Sinitta admits she isn’t looking forward to facing the Ice panel.

She sighs: ‘I’m trying not to think about the drama of being judged in public. It’s such a cruel thing, I don’t think they should have that bit because we’ve got enough to worry about without having to listen to them laying into us. Especially Jason. He’s like the Simon in this isn’t he? I think I’m just going to have to wear cotton wool in my ears.’

Talking of Simon Cowell, Sinitta reveals that when she told him she was competing on this year’s show, he was gobsmacked:

‘I managed to keep it a secret for a while until I finally told Simon and he said: ‘Are you out of your mind?’ and seemed quite shocked about the whole thing. I’m not sure if that’s because he thinks it’s funny or if he thinks I’m going to embarrass him because he knows I can’t skate. Well, I can definitely skate better now than I ever could so I asked him if he’ll come and watch the show. He said he would if I made the final – but I’ve got a feeling I may have to persuade him to come down a bit sooner than that!’