The beginning of the seventh series of Dancing on Ice is only weeks away. We can already book tickets for the Live Tour which will take place in arenas across the country, starting in Newcastle on April 13th.

Chief resident judge Robin Cousins has been in charge of the judging table since Dancing on Ice began in 2006. He has a reputation for being tough on the contestants, but given his career credentials that should be no surprise.

Robin got a love for skating from his first visit to Bournemouth ice rink as a child.  By the age of twelve he had won his first national title at novice level. Robin was the 1980 Olympic Champion and European Champion figure skater. He was also a world medallist three times and British national champion four times. People looking at the Dancing on Ice betting should remember this.

As well as producing his own ice shows, he’s been in West End theatre productions. In short, you couldn’t get much more of an expert on ice dance, style and choreography, so he’s probably the most qualified person you could wish for to judge Dancing on Ice.

Robin still keeps his hand in with serious competition skating by working as a commentator for the BBC, and at the European and World Figure Skating Championships. During the 2010 series of Dancing on Ice, Robin was absent from the judge’s table for a few weeks as he went to cover the Winter Olympics. Karen Barber stepped in as head judge, and Michael Ball and Angela Rippon both also subbed for him.

This year Robin is going to be joined by two new judges for the 2012 series of Dancing on Ice – the irrepressible Louie Spence from Pineapple Studios fame and former Olympic ice dancing champion Katarina Witt.

After the series comes to its dramatic climax with the best two couples’ final dance-off of Ravel’s Bolero, you’ll be able to see the live shows in Liverpool, Manchester, London and Nottingham to name but a few of the venues.

The wait is almost over: the new season of Dancing on Ice is just around the corner. The 2012 series of one of Britain’s favourite reality TV shows will be back in January, with a new presenter to partner old-timer, Philip Schofield. Daybreak presenter, Christine Bleakley, is really excited about joining the show.

On the show’s official website, Christine said: “I’ve always been a total Dancing on Ice addict so it really is hard to sum up how excited I am to be joining the team.”

Along with a fresh new presenter, the 2012 show will also see some changes at the judges’ table.  Everyone’s favourite from Pineapple Studios, Louie Spence, will join former Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Wit and residing head judge Robin Cousins. People placing a Dancing on Ice bet will know that is a strong judging panel.

Katarina is looking forward to the challenge of being the judge rather than the performer and said: “As well as offering support and constructive advice to this years’ celebrity skaters I’m also looking forward to working alongside my close friends Torvill and Dean.”

As for Louie, he can’t wait: “I’m looking forward to being part of such a challenging and spectacular show and can’t wait to give my encouragement and critique on the contestants’ dance and performance on the ice.”

Although the official line up of contestants hasn’t been announced, a number of celebrities have been spotted in training sessions with Torvill and Dean.  They include actress Jennifer Ellison, the fashion designer Sadie Frost, and Sugababe Heidi Range.  The 64 year old fitness queen Rosemary Conley arrived dressed the part for training in a jogging outfit.

Mo from Eastenders, aka Laila Morse, and skier Chemmy Alcot were also seen down at the skating rink in Slough. The actress from Hollyoaks, Jorgie Porter, joined the party.

On the men’s side, ex-Blue Peter presenter Andy Akinwolere and Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden were also spotted, along with ex-Spurs goal keeper Ian Walker.
How many of these stars will appear on the first show remains to be seen, and if last year’s show is anything to go by, at least four will only survive one show before they are eliminated.

Alesha Dixon has apologised for appearing half soused on the Alan Carr show. The Strictly Come Dancing judge used Twitter to say sorry for being “pickled” when she made a series of indiscreet comments on the chat show.

The 33-year-old, who first shot to fame with pop group Mis-Teeq, was seen swigging from a bottle of wine as she told the “chatty man” himself, Alan Carr, how the contestants taking part in the Strictly show often get a little “hot under the collar” as a result of some of the more risqué dance routines. Those following the Strictly Come Dancing betting should remember this.

“Everyone is really frisky on the show,” she said, “everybody is horny. The year I was a contestant, everyone just was really gagging for it. You spend eight to ten hours a day rubbing up next to each other. Of course you’re going to get a bit frisky.”

It was Alesha’s appearance and eventual victory in Strictly’s Series 5 with dance partner Matthew Cutler back in 2007 that put her right back on the celebrity map after he solo singing career struggled following the Mis-Teeq split two years earlier. Those looking for Strictly Come Dancing tips will remember this.

She was being interviewed alongside fellow Strictly Come Dancing judges Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel-Horwood when she made the remarks on Alan Carr’s Channel 4 show “Chatty Man” on Sunday 4th December.

As her comments became increasingly risqué, Bruno grabbed Alesha’s glass of wine and said: “No more drink for Alesha!”

“Give me the bottle!” went the cry from Alesha. She was then seen drinking straight from the bottle on the show. She later tweeted: “Apologies for being pickled on Alan Carr! I did have fun though!”

I say – give her a few bottles before she goes on Strictly every time!

The time was finally up on Misha B’s time in The X Factor at the weekend, as the public vote was final on the semi-final show.

For the first time, the judges couldn’t save the extremely talented youngster and she fell at the last hurdle, failing to get a place in the final three.

Gary Barlow said on Saturday night that it was extremely disappointing that she most likely wouldn’t win the competition, thanks to comments made earlier in the competition about her bullying her fellow contestants. Those who had placed an X Factor bet on her will know what impact that had.

Tulisa made the claim first on one of the live shows and she was backed by Louis Walsh, who claimed some of his protégés had complained about her behaviour.

But despite many believing these comments led to her demise on the show, Misha B has said she has forgiven the judges for what they said.

Speaking on ITV show Daybreak, the 19-year-old said: “Forgiving is the thing that I have done. I believe that situations occur in life, you shouldn’t get bitter, you should just get better.”

She added that The X Factor has been “one of the greatest experiences” of her life and she is grateful for the opportunity she had. “Regardless of how far I came, I just think it’s a blessing [for] me even coming fourth – it’s just incredible,” the teenager said.

Asked who she believes could win the competition, Misha said Little Mix because there’s “no girl group out there that’s like them”, adding that she sees a gap they could fill.

The singer said she believes all of the finalists – including Amelia Lily and Marcus Collins – will find a place in the music industry, but she believes the girl band will win this year’s show.

It seems the bookies feel the same way too – they believe Little Mix will win the competition, with Marcus dropping down to third favourite behind Amelia Lily following the weekend’s show.

X Factor hopeful Marcus Collins has said he won’t be trying to win the competition by using a sob story.

Despite the 23-year-old having a difficult upbringing and his mother battling breast cancer, he doesn’t want the public to vote for him because of that.

Speaking to Star magazine, the Scouse singer said he believes people are “sick of” hearing sob stories. And, after the public backlash when Misha B was tearfully debating whether to see her estranged mother after years, he’s probably right. Those looking at the X Factor betting should remember this.

Discussing everything he and his mum have been through together, Marcus said: “I really don’t want to [talk about it though]. X Factor tell me off because there’s stories that would make amazing videos and it could really influence things but I don’t want to go on about it.

“I could have been all ‘poor me, poor me’, but I think people are sick of that.”

The Liverpudlian singer denied the fact that Misha had used her so-called sob story to win votes, telling the magazine she has “far much too integrity” to fake cry on TV.

Marcus recently admitted that he was snubbed by X Factor mogul Simon Cowell when he tweeted him.

“He’s aware of us. I sent him a message on Twitter saying ‘Hello boss. Hope you’re enjoying the show.’ Sadly, he didn’t reply,” Marcus revealed.

But he’s not letting that get him down, as he has the undivided attention of his mentor, Take That singer Gary Barlow. Anyone following the X Factor winner odds should bear this in mind.

Marcus has just dropped down in the bookies’ favourites list though, with Little Mix overtaking him in the stakes. However, there’s still plenty of time for him to become the bookies’ favourite to win again, with the semi-finals taking place this weekend.

X Factor hopeful Amelia Lily has denied producing “shouty” performances on the show.

The young singer, who was given a surprise second chance in the competition after Frankie Cocozza quit the show, was criticised by Gary Barlow for her sing-off a couple of weeks ago.

Take That star Gary, whose own act Craig Colton ended up in the bottom two competing against Amelia, said the 17-year-old had “shouted her way through” Lady Gaga’s You And I.

Tulisa also used the term to describe her performance at the weekend of Since You’ve Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson, while Gary suggested the pitch of her songs was too high. People looking at the X Factor odds should remember this.

But speaking to The Xtra Factor, Amelia explained: “I think sometimes it’s about the mic and I think sometimes I’m holding the mic too close to my mouth or something like that.”

She also denied struggling to reach the top notes. “I’m not shouting because I’m not struggling with the notes. If I was then I’d take it into consideration but I’m not struggling,” the singer insisted.

Meanwhile her former fellow contestant, Janet Devlin, has hit out at the show she has just been axed from, claiming to be relieved she’s no longer in the competition. Those who had placed an X Factor bet on her won’t share those feelings.

Speaking to Lorraine Kelly, the youngster said the programme had brought her down a lot.

She added that she didn’t like the fact she had to cover other people’s songs – “It got to the point where I felt like a karaoke artist every Saturday night.”
However, Janet was quick to admit that if it had been a karaoke show, she wouldn’t have had the chance to forget the lyrics on two different occasions!

Will Artem Chigvintsev dance or won’t he? That’s the question on the lips of Strictly Come Dancing devotees up and down the length of Britain this week as we near the Wembley Children In Need spectacular on Saturday night.

The professional dancer who is partnering Australian soap star and singer Holly Vallance suffered a back injury a fortnight ago which forced him to miss out last week. People following the Strictly Come Dancing betting will know this.

Thankfully for Holly, fellow antipodean, 34 year old New Zealander Brendan Cole was able to step into the breach under Artem’s careful choreography and guidance.

Artem is said to be making progress with his injury, but it’s still too early to tell whether he’ll be fit for Saturday night at Wembley.

Brendan had previously partnered Scottish singer Lulu, but sadly their dance routines didn’t quite pass muster with the judges or the voting public.

Holly, meanwhile, told the BBC’s “It Takes Two” that dancing with Brendan felt a bit like cheating ion her husband.

“Obviously it’s a little bit strange after seven weeks with Artem, but we had a great week together and we worked really hard at making it look seamless and like we’ve been together forever”, she said.

Strictly fans have their fingers crossed that Artem’s injury will soon be gone. Initially, it was feared the Russian had fractured his spine, but it was later revealed that he was suffering joint and soft tissue damage. He was replaced for last week’s show, which saw the revised pairing of Holly and Brendan score 34 for their rumba number. Anyone looking for Strictly Come Dancing tips should remember this.

Artem is continuing to guide and choreograph the dance routines and has been present at all  rehearsals, ready to step in if the medics give him the all clear.
Holly says she’s happy to dance with either of the professionals – but then she’d have to say that, wouldn’t she!?

This year, there hasn’t been a big love story developing on Strictly.  What there has been though, is a bit of jealousy from ex-Eastenders star Kara Tointon, over how flirtatious her real life partner Artem has been with his current dancing partner in the ninth series of Strictly – Holly Valance.

The winner of last year’s Strictly has been in love with Artem since they danced their way to the top of the leader table in 2010.  Apparently, watching Artem dance with someone new this year had proved too much for Kara’s green-eyed nature and accusations started flying. Anyone looking at the Strictly Come Dancing betting will remember it.

Thankfully, it’s all blown over now. Kara went to a lot of trouble to get some quiet time with Holly so they could clear the air.  Artem arranged for them to meet in the green room, and when Holly walked in Kara had a bottle of champagne ready and greeted Holly with a hug, by way of apology.

Apparently, all Kara’s anxieties about the flirtatious nature of Holly and Artem’s relationship were quickly put aside. Holly has her own boyfriend, Nick Candy, who she says she’s very happy with. People looking for Strictly Come Dancing tips should bear this in mind.

Once they had sorted out any misunderstandings about Artem, and after Kara had laid down some rules about when and how Holly was to contact Artem during their time on Strictly, the girls moved onto more important topics like make-up.

In 2009 the biggest Strictly love story was the romance that built up between professional dancer Kristina and her celebrity partner Joe Calzaghe. The year before that, Kristina had also been entangled with fellow dancer on the show, Vincent Simone, whose girlfriend was expecting his child.

In 2010, judge Craig Revel Horwood said he couldn’t understand why people were surprised when dancing partners got close on the show – he thinks that affairs are inevitable part of the Strictly phenomenon.

X Factor hopeful Janet Devlin is reportedly extremely unhappy with her mentor, Kelly Rowland.

The 17-year-old is said to believe the judge’s favourite is Misha B and she feels neglected as a result. And, with Amelia Lily voted back into the show last weekend, there’s a risk Janet could actually be sidelined even further.

According to an insider speaking to The Mirror, Janet “feels unloved and ignored”. This is said to have come after Kelly invited both Janet and Misha to a Tinie Tempah gig then said “good” when Janet decided not to come.

The Northern Irish youngster believes that Kelly will now end up spending all of her time with Misha and Amelia.

“Kelly can’t ignore her, it simply isn’t fair,” the source told the newspaper. “[Janet] needs Kelly to look after her a bit, otherwise this is all going to go horribly wrong. As it stands, the pair are barely speaking and Janet is really p****d off.”

Despite the reports, it isn’t Janet who seems to be in trouble at the moment. Even though Gary Barlow seems less than impressed with her recent performances, suggesting at the weekend that she was becoming predictable and boring, the public still love her. People looking at the X Factor betting should remember this.

Misha B, presumably after she was accused live on air of bullying other contestants, doesn’t seem to be faring as well.

The 19-year-old ended up in the bottom two again this week – after previously beating Sophie Habibis. She fought off very stiff competition from Kitty Brucknell in the Sunday night sing-off, winning out in the end after only Louis Walsh voted to send her home.

Misha is now the bookies’ favourite to leave next week though, with Amelia the new favourite to win.