Regan Gascoigne has revealed he would love to see his football star father Paul ice skating again and said he might take him for some lessons after he competes on Dancing On Ice.
Gascoigne, who is a singer and dancer, is partnered with professional skater Karina Manta for the ITV ice skating competition.
He is currently the bookies’ favourite to win the show despite only being due to make his debut on the ice rink this Sunday.
Gascoigne noted that his father Paul, a former England footballer, was meant to take part in an ice skating special of Strictly Come Dancing many years ago but had to be replaced by fellow footballer David Seaman after an injury.
Speaking ahead of his own skating debut on Sunday, Gascoigne said: “I think he’s been on the ice a few times. He did that show a long time ago and I don’t think he was very good at it.
“But I would love to see him back on the ice. Maybe after this I’ll have to take him for a couple of lessons.”
He is due to make his debut on the rink this Sunday in the second batch of celebrity contestants alongside Connor Ball, Ben Foden, Liberty Poole and Stef Reid.
However, the dancer is already the bookies’ favourite to win, with Coral bookmakers giving him odds of 11-4.
Gascoigne revealed that he has family friends who are already following his odds but said he was just concentrating on his performance this weekend.
He said he plans to “get out there, enjoy this weekend and give it my best and see what happens”.
Six of the competition’s 12 couples took to the ice over the weekend, with Brendan Cole and Kimberly Wyatt topping the leaderboard.
Gascoigne said he feels that “everyone is competition” but admitted that he got nervous after watching Cole’s routine.
“Brendan Cole has got an amazing dance background and his performance on Sunday was amazing,” he added.
“So especially after watching him I was like, ‘Wow, now the nerves are kicking in’.
“But I think everyone’s just as good competition as the next person.”
He admitted that his own background in performing and being on stage will help him within the competition but feels learning to dance on ice was a “totally different ballgame” as he had never skated before.