OLYMPIC gymnast Louis Smith has thrown his hat in the rink to join Dancing On Ice next year.
The 33-year-old retired athlete has a history of smashing competitions and won Strictly Come Dancing in 2012, before being awarded an MBE for his services to gymnastics.
He was also the inaugural winner of The Masked Dancer in 2021 dressed as Carwash.
Last night he made a rare public appearance in the audience of Dancing On Ice, and presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield couldn’t resist the opportunity to sign him for 2024.
Holly, 42, pounced first and said: “Listen, you’ve been the champion of so many things, Strictly, The Masked Dancer, I mean, there’s an ice rink with your name on it.”
Appearing a bit sheepish at first, Louis replied: “I’ve got too many cobwebs to be honest with you. I’m a bit out of action.”
He then paused and added: “But you give me three months….”
Excited, Phil blurted out: “Oh we’ll give you more than that! We’ll give you more.
“We’ll all speak later.”
Gold medal winner Louis is the most successful male gymnast to come out of the UK.
In 1995 aged six he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
It comes as British Olympian Nile Wilson, 27, broke down in tears as she told of his pride at winning the 2023 series.
Nile said: “It means so much to me. I want to thank everyone who voted back home.
“If Dancing On Ice is anything other than entertainment – we’ve got 11 human beings of all different shapes and sizes standing on this stage with an allocated time to get good at something.
“We’ve proved that we can do it, and what an inspirational show.
“If you work hard and you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything you want to.”
