Daniel Whiston

Dan Whiston
Whiston and Hayley Tamaddon on the Dancing on Ice tour in 2010
Personal information
Country represented	England
Born	(1976-11-21) 21 November 1976 Blackpool, England
Residence	Poulton-le-Fylde

Daniel J Whiston^[1] (born 21 November 1976 in Blackpool) is an English ice skater. He appeared in Strictly Ice Dancing on BBC One and all series of ITV show Dancing on Ice. He won the first series of Dancing on Ice while partnering actress Gaynor Faye, the fifth series with former Emmerdale actress Hayley Tamaddon and the eighth series with Olympic artistic gymnast, Beth Tweddle.

Background

Whiston was born on 21 November 1976 in Blackpool and is the son of Marj and William Whiston,^[2] he now resides in Poulton-le-Fylde just outside Blackpool.^[1] He started ice skating at the age of seven at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Ice Arena. He worked in the Arena and took part in his first show there when he was 18 years old. He also appeared in a tour of Grease on Ice in North America,^[3] and appeared in the Hot Ice Show at the Arena until 2006.^[4] He appears in the DVDs of the Hot Ice shows Quixotic, Xylatomia, H2O, Amarin and Chill.

Career

Whiston appeared in the one-off Strictly Ice Dancing broadcast on BBC One on 26 December 2004.

Whiston performed at the 2010 Royal Variety Show, performing a combination of roller-blading and acrobatic.^[5]

Dancing on Ice (2006-2014)

Whiston has appeared in every series of Dancing on Ice since ITV started broadcasting it in January 2006, he is the first and only professional skater to win the show three times. He is famous for his cheeky wink at the start of each performance. On 21 May 2013 ITV confirmed that Dancing on Ice would end in 2014 after its ninth series meaning that with three wins as a professional Whiston will become the most successful professional partner in the show's history.

His statistics are as follows:

Whiston won the first series of Dancing on Ice on 3 March 2006 with partner, actress Gaynor Faye, ^[6] He was also a presenter at the British Soap Awards on 24 May 2006.^[7]

In the second series in 2007 Whiston reached the semi-finals, finishing fourth, with actress Emily Symons, before being eliminated in a skate-off against singer Duncan James and his partner, Maria Filippov. With Symons also appearing in the soap opera, Emmerdale set in and filmed in West Yorkshire, they initially trained at Bradford Ice Arena in Bradford each week before travelling down to London for dress rehearsals.

In the third series in 2008, Whiston was partnered with another Emmerdale actress, Linda Lusardi and again they initially trained in Bradford. Following Lusardi's departure from the soap, and subsequent return to her family home in the south of England, it was revealed that Whiston had temporarily moved in with her family, to enable them to practise without the need for excessive travelling.^[8] Initial training was problematic as Lusardi broke her foot. They were voted out in week seven, finishing sixth, in a skate-off with actress Zaraah Abrahams and her partner Fred Palascak. Both Whiston and Lusardi appeared in the Dancing on Ice Tour 2008.^[8]

In the fourth series in 2009, Whiston was partnered with Roxanne Pallett another former Emmerdale actress. In week 8 Daniel and Roxanne were in the skate off against Zöe Salmon and Matt Evers and were eliminated 5-0.

Whiston won the fifth series of Dancing on Ice on 28 March 2010 with yet another former Emmerdale actress and childhood friend Hayley Tamaddon.^[9]

In the sixth series in 2011, Whiston was partnered with former Reality TV Star Kerry Katona. They were eliminated in week 5, in a skate off against Jeff Brazier & partner Isabelle Gauthier.

In the seventh series in 2012 Whiston's Partner was Brookside actress Jennifer Ellison. They were eliminated in the semi-final against Jorgie Porter and her partner Matt Evers.

Whiston won the eighth series of Dancing on Ice on 10 March 2013 and became a three time champion with Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle.

Whison returned for his ninth and final series of Dancing on Ice for its "All-Star" series in 2014 with Hayley Tamaddon who he won the show with in 2010. They made it to the final on 9 March 2014 and finished as runners-up.

Personal life

In May 2008 it was revealed that Whiston would be working in his father's carpet fitting business on the Fylde coast over the summer with Whiston saying, "I've got a bit of time now before the next series, so I am taking a break and working for my dad for a bit. We just finished the tour of Dancing On Ice and it was absolutely fantastic, everywhere was sold out and I really enjoyed it. I will be carpet-fitting as well as going into people's houses delivering!" ^[10]

In February 2010 it was revealed that Whiston had undertaken a basic first aid course with the British Red Cross. He said: "As a coach as well as a skater, it’s really important that I’m able to help people if they hurt themselves. I really enjoyed the course and will definitely be renewing my certificate when it expires."^[11]

References

External links

• Official website
• Daniel Whiston at the Internet Movie Database