Magician Ben Hanlin joins Dancing On Ice as replacement for Kelvin Fletcher

MAGICIAN Ben Hanlin is joining Dancing On Ice as a replacement for Kelvin Fletcher, The Sun Online can reveal.

The 33-year-old, who fronted celebrity magic show Tricked, has taken the spot that opened up when Emmerdale star Kelvin opted to join Strictly Come Dancing instead.

A source told us: "Ben is absolutely thrilled because this is his biggest break in TV and marks a huge showbiz comeback for him.

"He fronted three series of ITV2's Tricked but he hasn't been on telly for a while now. To say he's excited is an understatement. He can't wait to bring some magic to the show."

Tonight, Dancing On Ice dropped a major hint to fans that the magician was headed for the rink, sharing a picture of a man seen from behind holding up the Joker card.

The caption wrote: "We wonder what tricks this celeb has up their sleeve."

That led many fans to correctly guess the star was Ben Hanlin - though many also speculated that  the man was Stephen Mulhern or Britain's Got Talent's Richard Jones.

Ben's show Tricked first appeared on ITV2 in 2014 and featured him pranking a series of celebrities including Peter Andre with jaw-dropping illusions.

However, he confirmed in an Instagram story earlier this year that the show was not going to return.

He also attempted an amazing feat alongside Joey Essex in Live And Deadly: Drowned, when they had to escape an underground chamber full of water.

The Sun Online tonight contacted reps for Dancing On Ice.

A long chain of showbiz events led to a spot opening up on the skating show, which is hosted by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

First, Jamie Laing was forced to pull out of Strictly with a foot injury which led to Kelvin, who had hinted he's be up for the ballroom show or the ice-skating hit, opting for the BBC show.

He had caught the eye of ITV bosses after posting impressive videos of him skating.

As The Sun Online revealed yesterday, H from Steps is also set to appear on the next series of Dancing On Ice.

He would join Love Island's Maura Higgins, Diversity's Perri Kiely and others stars currently in talks to join including pop star Michelle Heaton and comedy veteran Michael Barrymore.

Dancing On Ice is set to return to TV screens in January.

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