Meet Brendan Cole: Dancing on Ice 2022 contestant and former Strictly pro

Cole has remained top of the leaderboard this season and only just missed out on a perfect score from the Dancing on Ice panel in week 9 – he got two 9.5s which gave him an overall score of 39.

However, Cole has faced some backlash from fans for his prior dance experience, which judges Torvill and Dean recently addressed.

When asked about the criticism himself this week, Cole told RadioTimes.com and other press: "I think the fact that we've got a dance background has only improved things on the ice.

"The stuff that we've been able to do because of what our background is and the fact that we push each other because we're all in that boat, it's actually really special.

"People are always gonna complain; that's the nature of humans as we exist today."

Cole appears to be a favourite to win, but might the other Dancing on Ice 2022 contestants be able to get the better of him?

Here's everything you need to know about Brendan Cole as he gets ready for the rink again in the final!

Who is Brendan Cole?

Age: 45

Job: Professional dancer

Twitter: @brendancole

Instagram: @brendancoleinsta

Partnered with: Vanessa Bauer

Brendan hails from Christchurch, New Zealand, and is best known for being a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, where he waltzed with a number of famous faces from 2004, when the show first kicked off, up until his departure in 2017.

Since his time on Strictly, Brendan has been busying himself with theatre and he was also seen on the short-lived The X-Factor: Celebrity in 2019. He has previously tried his hand at judging dancing on the New Zealand version of Strictly, Dancing with the Stars.

Brendan's Dancing on Ice score:

Week One: 7.5, 8, 7.5, 7.5 = 30.5 (safe)

Week Three: 9.0, 8.5, 8.0, 8.0 = 33.5 (safe)

Week Four: 9.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.0 = 35.5 (safe)

Week Six: 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 8.5 = 34.0 (safe)

Week Seven: 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40 (safe)

Week Eight: 10, 10, 10, 10 = 40 (safe)

Week Nine: 10, 10, 9.5, 9.5 = 39 (safe)

What has Brendan said about joining Dancing on Ice 2022?

Brendan's involvement with Dancing on Ice 2022 was revealed on ITV's Loose Women. "I’m so, so excited," he said. "It’s been a while coming now. I’ve known I’d be doing the show for quite some time and I want to get started, I’m so excited to be on the show."

We know he can throw some shapes, but what about applying to that to the ice: “I’ve had one go. I’m a fairly confident person and I like to think I’m going to be good at what I put my hand to or my feet to! I was thinking 'OK, I’m going to be fine,' and I was terrible. I was a bit wobbly. You can expect to be a bit wobbly on ice but I was hoping I was going to be better than I was. I’ve got time to learn. I’m just going to embrace the whole experience and I’m very excited to get started.”

Dancing on Ice airs on Sundays on ITV and ITV Hub. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.

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