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Jayne and Christopher, how are preparations for the final going?
Christopher: "It's a busy week…The celebrities all perform once, then they do a routine from the previous week, and then the public can vote. Whoever gets the lowest vote of the three won't get to do the Bolero. The two finalists get to skate off on the Bolero, and then the public vote again."
Jayne: "It's all very confusing! But it's the public that decides the winner."
Christopher: "That's the thing about the show - it's real. You just don't know who's going to win."
Have you noticed more nerves from the celebrities this week?
Jayne: "Early on in the week there was a bit of panic about doing the Bolero, because they have to do it themselves."
Christopher: “They have to choreograph their performances. It's really the first time that they've been let loose to do their own thing."
Jayne: "Between Chris and I, and Karen the coach, we've worked with them and tweaked a few things. They've all got their routines now so they're all settled. It's just a question of going through them."
Christopher: "And they've got the flying to contend with!"
So, what do you mean when you say the contestants are going to "fly"?
Christopher: "They're all going to be doing aerial work. We've got Foys in – they're the specialists in wire-flying around the world. They're the authority on it. We're trying to show the magic of skating – to take that seamless glide on the ice and allow the skater to go into the air. When it's done well, it's really magical."
Is it quite dangerous?
Christopher: "If they get it wrong it's ugly as hell! It's like a fly caught in a spider trap. It's not just the two of them; there's also a third person - an operator - making up the team. It takes a lot of work this week for everyone to get comfortable."
With the Bolero, the contestants must be tempted to copy what you guys did. Have they?
Jayne: "They’re allowed to…"
Christopher: "But it's their interpretation. They can use as much or as little of our version as they want. The only thing we said was, 'Start on your knees as we did, and finish splayed out like we did.' Everything in between is what they feel. The celebrities might be watching a DVD of our performance and think, 'That’s a lot of old dross!'
Which celebrity has most impressed you this week?
Christopher: "Clare’s really strong at flying, and Duncan's got a really good Bolero."
Jayne: "He's very passionate when he performs. He becomes a character."
Christopher: "And Kieran's got some great routines."
What's next for you after the series?
Christopher: "We're doing a Dancing On Ice nationwide tour. It just seemed a natural thing to do, because there have been so many requests for tickets to see the show live."
Jayne: "It's really taking off. The tickets are selling really well."
Christopher: "Nobody's talked about a third series yet. We'll have to wait and see. But, if you were a betting person, you'd have to bet that there would be a third series. The most surprising thing is how much people love the show. The stewardesses on my flight the other day were all saying, 'We love the show. We're addicted to it!' And it's not just for grown-ups, it's for kids too. It's Saturday night TV that people like to stay in watch."
Jayne: "From our perspective, that really makes it worthwhile."
Do you think the show's helping to get more youngsters involved in skating?
Jayne: "Definitely. Even last year we heard that from people that work in ice rinks. They said, 'We're so busy now.' Some rinks had even run out of hire skates. Hopefully they'll be ready for the rush this year!"
Christopher: "If the show encourages people to go the rink, that makes it all worthwhile. That's how we started. We went once and we liked it."
How are preparations for Saturday's final going?
Duncan: "On Saturday we've got to be on the ice at 7.30am. It's such a long day 'cause we don't finish until 11.30pm. It's just a really long day, and after the show we're back in on Sunday again. I can’t even get Sunday off for Mother's Day because I have to rehearse for the Champion of Champions show next week. It's pretty hardcore. It's the most hardcore thing I've done in my life – the most pressurised. I thought Blue was pretty tough at times, but this is intense."
It's pretty physical, isn't it?
"And very mental too. You're learning so much all the time, and Christopher Dean is a very direct teacher. When he's teaching you, you have to be switched on. You have to be focused and you can't mess about – you have to give him 110% because that's what he expects. Your brain is going, 'Oh my god!' Luckily Maria sorts me out a bit."
You performed in the Australian show, didn't you Maria?
Maria: "Yes, I came first on the Australian show."
Duncan: “She’s the Australian number one!”
So, how have you found the flying?
Duncan: "It's been a great experience. Getting the opportunity to have a go at wire work is awesome. It's just really good fun. It's just me who flies, but I do have to pick Maria up at one point and carry her. If I drop her she's dead! There's a lot of trust!"
What can we expect from your Bolero?
Duncan: "Actually, I'm very pleased with our Bolero. We created it ourselves. I think it's really good. It's a very intense performance between me and Maria – there's a lot of chemistry between us."
Maria: "It’s about our relationship with each other."
How do the nerves on the show compare to the nerves you felt when you were playing Wembley with Blue?
Duncan: "Blue was a walk in the park! Put me out on a stage with the boys in front of 20,000 people and I'm not nervous at all. But in front of that studio audience on a Saturday night, my legs go like jelly! It's so nerve-wracking because it's live on national television. If you fall over, what do you do? If Maria falls over, it's not so bad: I can just pick her up and carry on. But if I fall over, it's wipe-out. I'd just stand there and cry!"
Will Saturday be the most nervous moment of your entire career then?
"Every Saturday has been. I’m not going out there to win it; I'm going out there to do my best. I'm just so proud that we've reached the final. I'm going to try to go out there and have fun. I don't want to be nervous out there. Everything after the final is a bonus. You can't get more exposure than this. It's just great for my profile, you know?"
What's next for you then?
"I’m going into the West End…I can't say which show yet! Also, I've just been asked to present the National Lottery again for a month on Saturday nights, which is great for me because it gets massive BBC1 viewing figures. They're very keen to have me back. It's good for me as a presenter."
Is a Blue reunion on the cards at all?
"Oh god, I hope not! Not right now. That's the last thing I'd want to do, to be honest. I've done it – I was in Blue for six years. I don't want to go back right now; I'm trying to go forward."
How's this week been?
Clare: "It's been a tough week, actually. It's all been worth it, though. We're all going to be like zombies at the end of it! Just to get to the final, it's just a dream come true."
So, how have you found the flying this week?
"It's fantastic. We've got a really slow number, so I can do some really fantastic manoeuvres. I can go upside down and spin around. It's been really good fun. The trickiest thing is to land it. I'm not supposed to look at Andrei – he's supposed to find me. It's really hard. Andrei did Dancing On Ice in Holland, and he did flying there, so he's been really helpful. He knew what he was doing!"
So what can we expect from you on Saturday?
"Well, the routine we’re going back to is 'Since U Been Gone' by Kelly Clarkson. I don't know if we're allowed to say any more!"
How would you describe your Bolero?
Clare: "It's really special for me because I remember the Bolero from when Jayne and Christopher first performed it. Andre was so kind. He said to me, 'What would you like to do for the Bolero? What would you like to take from it?' I said, 'I'd like to do some little toe-toe-toe steps'. There's quite a lot of pressure on the professional skater because they have to choreograph the performance. But it's been lovely actually because we’ve been able to put in lots of stuff that we've learned over the past few weeks."
Andrei: "There's a big lift in it."
Clare: "And we've made it quite dramatic. Good old Andre came up with some dramatic elements! I'm so proud of Andre for what he's put together. It's such a well-balanced programme, and there are some beautiful elements in there."
Clare, how are your injuries you've sustained during the show?
"They're fine actually. Flying hurts because I've got a fractured rib, but I've got a physio who straps me up before I skate. I don't do anything before being heavily strapped. You have to take pain relief and just ignore the injuries!"
What would it mean for you to win this competition?
"It would be fantastic. It would be the cherry on the cake really. But we're not taking anything for granted. We've had an amazing week and just to get here is a dream come true. We're going to enjoy our skating and see what happens, really."
And are you looking forward to the Dancing On Ice tour?
Clare: "The tour will be fantastic."
Andrei: "It will be great because there is no pressure. You can just skate."
Clare: "I'm looking forward to seeing Andrei skate with his wife on the tour – they get to skate together! It'll be beautiful skating."
Clare, what plans have you got for the rest of 2007?
"I've had quite a lot of offers coming in from West End theatre and drama, which would be fantastic. Obviously I'll have to wait until I finish the tour but it's great to have the offers on the table, really. I can't say what they are because it's too early! I might not get a holiday though – I might go straight from the tour into this new project."
The bookies make you 8/1 favourite to win, so are you feeling any pressure?
Kyran: "There's pressure whether we're favourites or not. That's been our mantra the whole way through. I want it to be an enjoyable, exciting final and I want to skate as well as I can - winning and losing can be decided by the public. I'm in exactly the same situation as Clare and Duncan so I can't focus on winning. We're just going to skate as well as we can and let the rest take care of itself."
So what can we expect from your Bolero?
"Huge connection! I read Digital Spy and a lot of people have said that most weeks it's been all about me acting "goofy" – pulling faces and stuff. But this week shows that we can do serious. I mean, our favourite performance is 'Chasing Cars', which is a slow song with a lot of connection. So our Bolero is going to be smouldering!"
What's your big flourish in the Bolero?
Melanie: "It's packed with a lot of stuff because we're skating really fast. We've got a lot of elements in the number, which I think is really impressive. I think it'll come off really well."
Kyran: "We've got spins and lifts and lots of connection. There are lots of simultaneous arm and leg movements too. It's the big old lifts that go down well at home…I did try and body-pop to the Bolero but Mel wasn't having it!"
And how have you found the flying?
Kyran: "I love the flying. I love the adrenaline. But it's just not good for my back. The centrifugal forces play havoc with my dodgy back – I've actually had three operations on my back. I've had three discs shaved."
Melanie: "He's pretty brave to be getting back in that harness after three back surgeries. I wouldn't!"
Are you looking forward to going on the tour after the show?
Kyran: "I can't wait for the tour! Absolutely. The pressure will finally be off."
The final of Dancing On Ice airs on ITV1 at 6.30pm on Saturday.
