Nicky Slater just loves being back on the ice.

The Dancing on Ice judge was a champion figure skater in his own right in the 1970s and 80s, and came a respectable sixth at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

But his skating past is often forgotten and many see him simply as one of five judges who sit and quip about a celebrity's death spiral or a axel jump.

"I tend to skate when I have an opportunity or a reason to. I love to be on the ice and there's a freedom in it."

Slater is back on the ice for his Ice Times tour, sandwiched in when he is not busy with the Dancing On Ice tour currently going round the country.

"The show looks at how ice dancing has developed from Victorian times to Dancing on Ice today," said Slater.

"We look at the different aspects of it and skate in different styles as we go through the years and slowly it gets more and more up to date until we are in the modern day.

"We have fun and party and there's live music and videos. The audience gets involved too and can ask questions about all sorts of things, including Dancing on Ice."

Suzanne Shaw triumped in this year's Dancing on Ice series, despite trailing Chris Fountain for much of the shows ten-week run and suffering a cracked rib and chipped ankle bone in practice, and Slater was proud of her.

"I'm never surprised with Dancing on Ice, you can never tell what is going to happen.

"The right person won on the performance on the day but you wouldn't have thought that was what was going to happen early on. She did amazingly well.

"Chris is probably the best individual skater we have ever had because he can skate.

"But there is a lot of people who have great entertainment value which is what the show is all about. We're talking about supplying entertainment not being an ice champion."

  • Nicky Slater's Ice Times, Fairfield Halls, May 22, 7.45pm, £15.50/£13.50. Call 020 8688 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk.