Cheggers skates over thin ice

Speaking to the NWN on Tuesday (Jan 8), ‘Cheggers’ described his hectic work schedule which in recent weeks had included acting as Wishee Washee in the (now finished) pantomime Aladdin, at Swindon’s Wyvern theatre, which overlapped with initial practice sessions for his Dancing On Ice partnership with Russian professional skater, Olga Sharutenko.
Nicknamed by Chegwin as the ‘The gremlin from the Cremlin,’ Chegwin added “Her English is quite good, but she doesn’t get my jokes,” he said.
The 55-year-old, who was this week spotted at early practice sessions at Planet Ice, in Basingstoke, has returned to the show, after pulling out last year, following a fall on the ice, which resulted in a broken shoulder and three fractured ribs.
“It took me three or four weeks to overcome my fear,” he said.
“It’s like going across concrete on two razor blades!”
Mentors, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, had helped him dispel any worries and he and Olga, had, he said, worked hard putting together their initial routine, danced to D:ream’s Things Can Only Get Better, resulting in him losing a stone-and-a-half.
Despite this, they finished in the bottom two on Sunday - but triumphed in the skate-off, performed to O’Fortuna, theme music for the film, The Omen, beating off competition from Pamela Anderson and her professional partner, Matt Evers - tipped as one of the main contenders.
“Me and Olga worked really hard on our ‘save me’ routine, but I didn’t think I’d be in the skate-off with Pam.”
“I thought at the skate-off, ‘She’s got it in the bag,’” he said.
The Baywatch actress, he continued, put her lacklustre perfomance down to a wardrobe malfunction, after judges pointed out she stumbled on the ice.
Watching Sunday’s performance from the sidelines were his 14-year-old son, Ted and wife, Maria - who has since retreated to the comfort of the sofa:
“My wife said she’s not coming again, she’s watching it from home, it’s too traumatic,” he said.
Next up for Cheggers, in February, is filming of his role alongside actors Les Dennis and Shaun Williamson in a one-off special of the television comedy programme, Life’s Too Short, written and directed by Reading-born Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
Cheggers takes a break this evening (Sunday January 13), while the remaining six contestants make thir debut on the ice at 6.15pm on ITV , before he returns for the next round of the competition next Sunday.
Photograph - ITV