Donal: I didn't want to be on 'Ice'

Donal MacIntyre has said that he did not originally want to appear on Dancing On Ice.

The journalist, 42, confessed that he was signed up for the show by his wife and children while he was working on a documentary about gang culture.

"I'm the surprise finalist, but I was also the reluctant contestant," he told DS. "I didn't want to do this show and I didn't need this show.

"I was Shanghaied into doing this by my wife and kids. They signed me up. When I got the call, I was with the Haitian voodoo mafia and they were presenting me with masks and AK47s in the style of Al-Qaeda."

He added: "I'd refused to do celebrity shows in the past because I didn't want to do it and I didn't need the money. Some people do it for the money and that’s fine. But my wife called and said she'd signed me up and I was in no position to argue with her.

"When I got back I didn't pull out because my kids wanted to see what daddy does for a living. They didn't want to see me dealing with gangsters, drugs and hitmen. So now the girls think I’m a professional ice skater who wears sparkly costumes. They love it!"