Review - Dancing On Ice at Birmingham NIA

Dancing on Ice fans were in skating heaven as the hit TV spectacular arrived in Birmingham.

reports.

Take a loose woman, a rap star, a comedy DJ, a handful of TV celebrities and a war hero and you have the perfect recipe for a skating spectacular - with Olympic champions Torvill and Dean the icing on the cake.

Dancing on Ice skated into the West Midlands last night and left the audience in awe of the daring displays and heart-stopping lifts.

Fans spanned the generations, with grandmothers, mothers and daughters turning out to see the spectacular. The live tour of the hit TV show opened with an unforgettable ice breaker as skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean welcomed the crowd at Birmingham NIA to the "Dancing on Ice Academy".

The audience roared with delight as the 'students' - which included a mix of the show's celebrity and professional skaters - gathered on the ice for the first number, Let's Get it Started by the Black Eyed Peas, choreographed by fellow skating legend and show judge Robin Cousins.

Then it was over to presenter Andi Peters, who introduced the rest of the judges - Karen Barber, Christopher Biggins and Loose Women regular Zoe Tyler - before the eight celebrity skaters and their professional partners took to the ice.

The 2011 champion ex-EastEnder Sam Attwater and runners up children's TV presenter Laura Hamilton and Richard & Judy's daughter Chloe Madeley were joined by rapper Vanilla Ice, Chris Moyles sidekick 'Comedy' Dave Vitty, actress and Loose Women presenter Denise Welch, VC hero Johnson Beharry as well as former Emmerdale star Hayley Tamaddon, the winner of Dancing on Ice 2010.

Not surprisingly, Sam and Hayley were top of the leader board after they didn't put a foot wrong in their routines.

But for many, Vanilla Ice was flavour of the night, especially when he showed off his beat box skills during Ice Ice Baby.

'Comedy' Dave provided some light relief as he skated to Achy Brakey Heart, complete with gold cowboy-style skates.

Heroic soldier Johnson Beharry VC also had the support of the crowd despite stumbling slightly near the end of his routine. He said: "I needed a new challenge and this has challenged me physically and mentally."

Five of the eight celebrities were voted through to the next round following the half-time public texting vote - Sam, Chloe, Laura, Vanilla and Hayley.

Each delivered seamless performances, interspersed with breath-taking routines from the professional skaters.

Special mention should go to Jodeyne Higgins and her husband Sean Rice, who captivated the crowd with their edge-of-the-seat acrobatics. The couple's pacey routine saw Jodeyne fly through the air, quite literally, with the crowd looking on in disbelief.

And, of course, the show wouldn't be complete without the biggest stars of all - Olympic ice dancers Torvill and Dean. Skating to Ellie Goulding's version of Your Song, the duo were the picture of perfection. Two celebrities made it through to the Bolero final - Sam and Hayley. Their performances looked too close to call, but there could only be one winner and it was Hayley.

All the skaters returned to the ice to say farewell and had the crowd on their feet.

A firework finale provided a fitting finish. It was the second ice show outing for mother and daughter Susan and Katie Harding, of Stourbridge Road, Halesowen, who first saw the show on its tour last year.

"We're big fans of the show and Katie loves to ice skate," said nursery nurse Susan, 46.

"We came to see the live show last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I love everything about it and Laura is my favourite, she's great on the ice," said 14-year-old Katie.

Jill Johnson, 48, was at the show with her daughter Becky, 11, and her mother Mary Grafton, 86.

"We love to watch it on TV and we came to see it last year. We thought it was amazing. It's incredible what the celebrities achieve in such a short space of time," said Jill, of Knowle, Solihull.

"I love the costumes, the dancing, the celebrities and their partners. They're all great," added Becky.

Kirsten Mackenzie, 40, was enjoying the show with her mother Jane Lynch, 62, and two daughters Hope, six, and four-year-old Liberty.

"I used to ice skate when I was younger and so I'm a big fan of the show. I think Torvill and Dean are amazing," said Kirsten, of Sutton Coldfield. It's the third time we've watched the live tour. It's fantastic".

* Dancing on Ice is at Birmingham NIA until Monday.