Dancing on Ice's Ben Foden has revealed he fears his children will get upset while watching him perform on the skating show.
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The rugby star told HELLO! and other press that his two children were "in tears" after he got voted off of The X Factor: Celebrity back in 2019, and hopes that it won't happen again.
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Ben performed in the three-piece band Try Star along with fellow rugby stars Thom Evans and Levi Davis while on the ITV talent show, but got voted off in 5th place while his two kids were in the audience.
Speaking at a recent press event, Ben said that it was "sad" to see his daughter Aoife, nine, and son Tadhg, six, get upset after he left the show and hopes there "won't be a repeat" with Dancing on Ice. He said: "The last experience they had with any show was they came to the X Factor when Try Star were doing it and it was the last show we got kicked off.
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"So they were in tears at the end. It was quite sad so hopefully there won't be a repeat when they can watch me."
© Photo: ITVBen will be skating during Sunday's live show
Ben also revealed that his children were "really impressed" when they saw him skate in a recent training session. He said: "They saw me dance with Robin and they were like, 'Oh Daddy, you're really good.' So they're very excited about it."
Ben shares his two eldest children with Saturdays singer Una Healy and has one child, one-year-old Farrah, with his wife Jackie Belanoff-Smith, whom he married in 2019.
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At the same press event, Ben also spoke about the friendships that have formed between the contestants, despite having had limited interactions due to Covid. He said: "The one thing that I already know about this group of people that are doing this show is that they're awesome. We're all supporting each other from the little interactions that we've had."
© Photo: InstagramBen with his wife Jackie Belanoff-Smith
The rugby star also revealed that Brendan Cole has set up a Whatsapp group for the cast. He said: "Brendan was the one who put it together very quickly off the bat. So we've had a bit of banter in there as well.
"That's part and parcel of what makes these shows fun is meeting new people and seeing what they're about. Hopefully, we'll maintain these friendships long after the show as well."
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