Investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre is taking a break from exposing the gangster underworld to don Lycra and sequins for the latest series of ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
Macintyre is best known for his BBC shows MacIntyre Undercover and MacIntyre Investigates, which saw him infiltrate various criminal organisations. His investigations led to the arrest of two violent football hooligans and the closure of a care home for the elderly, which was found to be abusing its residents.
Speaking to STV, MacIntyre said: ‘Skating has taken over everything. I feel like I’ve been leading a double life – interviewing hardened gangsters but thinking about skating.”
He added: ‘I have lost about 20 pounds, which I call the combination between gangsters and sequins diet.”
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His reputation as a hard man may come in handy on the reality ice-skating show as contestants regularly suffer injury; TV presenter Michael Underwood broke his ankle on last year’s run.
The bookies have given MacIntyre and his skating partner Florentine Houdiniere long odds of 20-1, but he said he would be happy to get past the first round. ‘If I survive the first show I will get a Torvill and Dean tattoo,’he said.
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