Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave announced for Dancing On Ice 2025

Sir Steve Redgrave is the third celebrity announced for 'Dancing On Ice' in 2025.

The 62-year-old retired rower will take part in the upcoming edition of the ITV1 skating competition when it returns to screens early next year and explained that the whole thing came about as a result of a joke he made to his fellow Olympians and judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

Speaking on ITV's 'This Morning', he said: "Earlier this year, on the series, it was Torvill and Dean's 40th anniversary of winning their first Olympic gold medal, and it's my 40th anniversary this ear as well so we know each other quite well. And I did one of the links to the show, to congratulate them. So I jokingly told them to try to get me on the show, just as a joke, and here we are a few months later."

The rower - who who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000 - admitted that he has had "a lot of doubt" over his new venture because despite his status as a sports star, he is quite an "uncooridnated" person.

"There's been a lot of doubt in my mind. Rowers row because they can't throw, catch, or kick a bowl. Rowing is a very coordinated sport but it ends up being people who aren't very coordinated because it's a repetitive sport. You're doing the same movements over and over again, and [with this], I might be doing a lot of sitting down! We all start next week, there's a masterclass on Tuesday and then our formal training starts every day. Two hours a day, five days a week. Weekends off!"

Just hours earlier, it was announced that 'TOWIE' star Ferne McCann and 'The Traitors' contestant Mollie Pearce will also be taking to the rink as part of the new series.