Christmas and New Year has been and gone so it can only mean one thing…Dancing On Ice is on our screens once again!

With the advertisements and magazine interviews giving the audience little slithers of what’s to come, first glances at the contestants and hints at some changes, the excited anticipation for this series is as high as ever.

With 16 in the starting line up but only 12 couples going into the competition, the pressure is on. The judging panel has also had a little shake up with there now being only three judges and Karen Barber assuming the role as “Voice of the Ice”.

The current favourites in the bookmakers are Sam Attwater and Laura Hamilton who are both at 5/1, but as regular viewers will know the favourites at the beginning are sometimes the ones who run into difficulty later on!

As the season progresses it will be interesting to see who will be the ‘Todd Carty’ of the series?

Who will be the one stand out person who can do no wrong? Who will the public take to voting for just to infuriate Jason?!

With sequins and celebrities and the viewing public as the judges let the first show begin.

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean opened the show in the new studio by skating to percussion instruments before being joined by the professionals skating to “Let’s Get It Started” by The Black Eyed Peas.

There are some new and also familiar favourites amongst the professional skaters this year, which brings a nice mix.

So now to the skaters...

Steve Arnold and Nina

I loved how Nina has had him at the gym and described Steve as having “a little bit of fat around his belly”

Brilliant! Skating to “House of Fun” they were dressed in flamboyant red and white striped costumes and looked the part.

The routine was comedic and fun to watch but there was quite a lot of two foot gliding although he seems to have no problems in skating forward.

A small supporting lift was included and he seemed secure enough during that.

He really seemed to get into the spirit of things, which is great to see, and there was only a minute stumble towards the end but this didn’t distract you from watching him.

The marking system had also changed - there is no longer a mark out of 6.0 – the score is now out of 10.

This roughly mirrors the marking system, which has been adopted in competitive skating although I have to say that is a lot more complicated!

Angela Rippon and Sean

I think its fabulous that Angela is flying the flag for the more mature lady and showing that skating is not only for young, sporting people. Looking wonderful in white and skating to “At Last” they took to the ice with ease. Angela moves really elegantly to the music, which will stem from her dancing background.

She really surprised me with how smooth she executed the movements across the ice surface – crossovers and three turns, backwards skating and spins seemed no challenge to her.

She entered the lifts easily and the content was more difficult than Steve who skated before.

Laura Hamilton and Colin

So Laura has started with a little chunk of skin missing from her leg after falling heavily – but she seems a tough cookie so I don’t think it will have bothered her much.

Skating to “My Life Would Suck Without You” it was a dynamic start with an assisted cartwheels.

She looked nice in the lifts but slightly wobbly during some of the skating parts although there is no denying she can move her legs.

She seems to me to be a rough diamond – the more skills and control she gets the better she will look.

The nice thing about Laura was that she had a stumble but didn’t let it bother her and she really attacked the performance.

Johnson Beharry VC and Jodeyne

Johnson has the highest accolade that any soldier can have – the Victoria Cross and no one can question his bravery and determination. Skating to “Wishing on a Star” he certainly looks the part in white and mint colours. He looks to have come on in leaps and bounds since taking on this particular challenge, as he couldn’t even stand up at the beginning.

He lifted Jodeyne with ease and managed forward skating, crossovers and three turns without any trouble.

His arm and leg lines do need refining but he seems sound when skating in a couple and also alone.

I think Jason’s score of 2 was unnecessary but it is only to be expected from the Queen of Mean!

Nadia Sawalha and Mark

Skating to “Proud Mary” Nadia and Mark looked lovely in purple costumes. I loved her ‘Tina Turner” moves and she looked confident moving her upper body and dancing. Her skating skills need quite a lot of work and this was masked by a lot of moving on the spot.

She seems confident in the lifts and smiled throughout which was lovely to see. What seemed to let Nadia down was that she was lacking in the ability to simply skate around the ice pad – but it was an enjoyable routine to watch.

I realise that Jason looks for the performance aspect but his marks are extremely odd.

Maybe this is the problem with only having 1 professional figure skater on a judging panel for a figure skating show?

Kerry Katona and Daniel

Kerry and Dan skated to my favourite song of the moment – “Make You Feel My Love”. I thought she had lovely lines when she skated and really connected with the music in her movements and her face.

She seemed comfortable in the lifts and looked confident on the ice. I would have loved to see her skate alone without Daniel, to see what she could do.

She actually really surprised me, as I didn’t think she would be as fluent across the ice as she was.

She could be a contender for the final if she carries on progressing.

Jeff Brazier and Isabelle

In lilac costumes and skating to “The Way Love Goes” Jeff showed he could dance during the opening seconds of the routine.

His skating skills are lacking slightly although there were some tricks added in which were of nice quality. He really seemed to enjoy the performance and by the end executed a lovely supporting lift with Isabelle without any problem.

I think he needs a little bit more work on his feet to make the movements smoother and this in turn will make it aesthetically better.

Vanilla Ice and Katie

Vanilla Ice – real name Robin – looked like a stereotypical bad guy rapper in his costume!

Skating to “Word Up” he moved really well and dancing is no problem for him and he seems to have great co-ordination. His skating is rough and ready but he is solid when lifting Katie.

I would have liked him to move off the spot earlier in the routine then we could have seen more from him.

His feet do the work that’s needed but he is a little round shouldered and this makes him look untidy when he skates.

Definitely one to watch!

So Laura and Colin, Angela and Sean and Nadia and Mark were in the skate off – with two of them missing out on the chance to skate in the main competition. With this new twist in the show it is a real shame that two couples miss out , but that’s the name of the game!

Angela was first up and unfortunately had a few more stumbles in this routine that when she first performed it although she still looked graceful across the ice.

Laura was second with her high-energy routine which gets the crowd behind her although she is like a loose cannon when she skated with lots of energy that needs harnessing and channeling in the right direction!

Nadia was the last of the three to skate and she really got into the character again with a big smile on her face but I do think out of the three her skating skills were the worst.

And the couple voted through by the public…was Laura and Colin!

To be honest this wasn’t much of a surprise as she does seem to show the most potential but it is a shame to wave goodbye to two people who we have barely got to know.

So, tune in next week for part two of the qualifier and 8 more couples who want to compete on Dancing On Ice!