Dancing On Ice 2023 Odds: Celebs Ekin-Su, Joey Essex and John Fashanu get their skates on

Tis the season for skating as Dancing On Ice slips and slides back onto our boxsets on Sunday 15th January (ITV 1), featuring an eclectic cluster of celebrities, including FA Cup winner John Fashanu, Love Island stunner Ekin-Su Culculoglu, EastEnders star Patsy Palmer, and Essex pretty boy Joey Essex.

We’ve analysed the odds to see how each of the contestants shape up as they bid to impress the judges - Otsi Mabuse, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, and Ashley Banjo - to be crowned winner of the "greatest show on ice"...

The betting is unsurprisingly close ahead of the big skate-off. After all, we’ve not yet seen any of the 2023 batch in action so it’s a bit of a guessing game up until the competition gets underway, with Nile Wilson, Joey Essex, and Ekin-Su Culculoglu tipped as the early bookmakers' favourites for glory.

No stranger to medals, British Gymnast Nile Wilson, a best-priced 7/2 (William Hill), will be bidding to add a skating gold to the five Commonwealth Games golds and Olympic bronze he won in the men's horizontal bar in Brazil six years ago.

Joey Essex will need no introduction to Reality TV lovers, although for those of you wondering who this handsome fella is: he shot to fame on The Only Way Is Essex and has gone on to shine those exceptionally white nashers in a plethora of TV shows, from I'm A Celeb Get Me Out Of Here! to Celebs Go Dating. The 32-year-old will join forces with Vanessa Bauer and is 4/1 across the board to be the last skater standing.

Ekin-Su Culculoglu has already fallen in love live on TV, now she’ll be hoping to avoid any falls on the ice as she looks to show everyone that the rink is where her heart is. As short as 3/1 with William Hill, Davide Sanclimenti’s better-half has been paired with Brendyn Hatfield and can be backed at 5/1 with Betfred, who offer new customers £40 in bonuses when they sign-up and bet £10.

The “liar, actress” is not the first Love Island star to sign-up to the show and certainly won’t be the last. Four other Islanders have swapped the sun for the ice, experiencing varying degrees of success in the process. We’ve not yet seen a win, with Wes Nelson the highest-placed in a runners-up finish back in 2019.

A little bit adrift of the above trio you’ll find The Wanted’s Siva Kaneswaran at 8/1, pursued by Coronation Street actress Mollie Gallagher at 10/1. She’ll be hoping to better other Corrie faces such as Danny Young, Steven Arnold, Andy Whyment, Samia Ghadie, Antony Cotton, Brooke Vincent, Jane Danson, Lisa George, Faye Brookes, and Sally Dynevor. Christ, that was a long list. Despite the ubiquity of the cast, none of that lot have ever won it either.

The Vivienne is single-digits with all bookmakers - and just 7/1 with William Hill - except Betfred, who have the maiden winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK way out at 16/1, meaning there could be a touch of value to be had here.

Ex-Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton and actress Carley Stenson have both been handed odds of 14/1, while Patsy Palmer aka Bianca Jackson off Eastenders and comedian Darren Harriott have both been allocated odds of 25/1.

As for the former Wimbledon striker, John Fashanu, the odds-makers aren’t giving the footballer-turned-presenter much of a chance to get those toes twinkling on the ice as the 33/1 rink outsider.