Skimpy Dancing on Ice skate outfits don’t worry me…I wore a bikini every day on Love Island, says Liberty Poole
LIBERTY POOLE has vowed to be Dancing On Ice’s sexiest contender.
She says tiny TV show skating costumes don’t faze her after spending eight weeks in a bikini in front of millions on Love Island.
The 22-year-old Brummie won an army of fans when she made it to the final week of the ITV2 series in 2021 alongside her now ex-boyfriend Jake Cornish.
Liberty is hoping to impress again when she takes to the rink on tonight’s first show alongside professional skating partner Joe Johnson.
And she said she has no problem showing off her sex appeal on ice — though she admitted that show judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have had to give her tips on becoming more flexible.
She said: “The Dancing On Ice costumes are revealing but feel modest compared with the bikinis I was in almost 24 hours a day on Love Island.
“I’ve tried on one so far and I loved it, it was so pretty. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.
“My first routine is pure independent woman, really sassy vibes, and I’ve loved throwing my personality into it and becoming a sass queen.
“I think that’s my secret weapon on the show.
“But one thing that is not my secret weapon is flexibility — I’m actually pretty inflexible.
“Jayne and Chris have told me I should do some yoga sessions to help, so I’m trying that.”
Liberty, a former Nando’s waitress, is the latest former Love Islander to take to the ice on the show, after Wes Nelson and Maura Higgins.
Tea-sy way to diet
LIBERTY has avoided a health kick to go with her strict new skating regime, saying: “I’ve still got the same s**tty diet.”
The reality TV favourite’s guilty pleasures include burgers and sweet tea.
But she told how she has still managed to lose weight thanks to hours of ice training.
Liberty said: “I love my McDonald’s. I still love my sugary cups of tea. The tea I’m drinking right now has three sugars in it.
“I’ve got a proper sweet tooth. Maybe the ice-skating training is why I’ve lost some weight.
“I wouldn’t even say I’ve lost a load. I don’t know for sure as I don’t weigh myself.
"I’ve definitely lost some, but I’m still just me.”
Adrenalin junkie
And while she says Maura’s sixth place in 2020 might be within reach, Wes’s runner-up title in 2019 is more of a challenge.
But Liberty said she is determined to go into this year’s competition with “full force”, warning her rivals she has no fear of performing the highly dangerous stunts on ice.
She is more scared of suffering a fake tan disaster than trying to pull off the notorious headbanger on ice.
Liberty added: “I spoke to Maura after I signed up for the show and she told me it was the best experience and that I’d love every second.
"So now I’m going in full force.
“I am quite competitive and I’d love to do better than the other Love Islanders who have taken part, but Wes came second, so that is going to be quite hard to beat.
“The competition is going to be one of the hottest yet this year but I’m hoping I’ll do well.
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“I’ve always been a bit of an adrenalin junkie and skating can feel a bit like a rollercoaster.
“When Joe lifts me in the air and spins me around really fast, I actually feel really safe.
“And I want to push myself out of my comfort zone, so I’ve been suggesting things that we can do to make the routine more dangerous.
“I’m definitely well up for the headbanger.”
She added with a laugh: “A fake tan disaster on the show would be awful. My worst one ever was when I put on this fake tan for a work shift at Nando’s.
“It was before a night out so I put it on underneath my foundation, and as the shift went on I actually ended up turning green because the tan had a green tint in it.
“Everyone was saying I looked like Fiona in Shrek.”
Liberty, who had a tumultuous time emotionally on Love Island, also told how her romantic ups and downs will help her to act out a series of routines with Joe.
And she said she will need to draw on those experiences, as her real love life is on ice.
I spoke to Maura after signing up for the show and
Liberty Poole
she told me it was one of the best things she’d ever done and that I’d love every second
She revealed: “Performing romantic routines with Joe will be more of a challenge, because we laugh all the time.
“Being serious will be much more difficult. But I’m open to trying anything, and I think it’ll be quite fun to play the different characters — to be a sass queen one week, heartbroken the next then the next week in love.
“It’ll be quite like Love Island, really.
“I don’t have time for love in real life at the moment because I’m so busy, and I’m not interested in doing the dating app thing.
“I’ve tried Tinder and I just got bored. I’m so terrible when it comes to messaging people and the lads just think I’m giving them the swerve.
"I’m a bit of a social butterfly and want to meet someone for real and see if there’s a vibe.
“But I’m sure that when the time is right for me to meet that person then I will.”
Last year saw Liberty linked to Joey Essex after they were pictured whispering together at a launch.
On the Cole
EXCLUSIVE by Amir Razavi
DANCING On Ice hopeful Brendan Cole has folded his business while swamped in £83,000 of debt – including £28,000 owed to the taxman.
Brendan, 45, partnered with German pro Vanessa Bauer for the ITV skate show’s new run starting tonight, also claimed for his firm the maximum £50,000 government-backed Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan.
The Kiwi former Stricly Come Dancing pro has put Brendan Cole Ltd into voluntary liquidation, and proceedings began in November.
His “amusement and recreation activities” company has assets of £48,684, well short of his debt mountain, figures from its statement of affairs show.
What the firm owes includes £22,000 of corporation tax, £6,000 in PAYE and National Insurance contributions, £4,600 to “various employees”, plus £400 to accountants.
Brendan owns 70 per cent of the business, with wife Zoe holding the other 30 per cent.
We approached his agent for comment.
Bond girl
But she insisted they are not dating and said: “Joey and I are just friends. We’ve met a few times and we’ve got the same management.
“He’s a lovely guy, and cheeky Essex guys are my type.
“But there’s nothing going on between us.”
While Liberty is currently throwing all her energy into Dancing On Ice, she said she is excited to see where the show leads her.
And she told how she would love to try her hand at TV presenting or acting in the future.
She said: “If I’m honest, I’m not the most natural social media influencer, but I’d love to do other TV shows and I’d like to try TV presenting.
“Acting runs in my family — my mum has a first-class degree in drama — and I’d love to play a Bond girl one day. That would be a top-tier dream.
“That said, I think acting talent might have skipped a generation with me. I did an audition in secondary school and they said I just looked constipated.
“But that was a decade ago, so who knows?
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“Maybe I’ve got a secret talent I haven’t discovered yet.”
- The new series of Dancing On Ice begins tonight at 6.30pm on ITV
