TOWIE’s Joey Essex crashed out of his comfort zone after he was rushed to hospital days into his training for Dancing On Ice.
The chiselled reality TV star was left shaken from the serious accident shortly after teaming up with the show’s former champion Vanessa Bauer.
The 32-year-old tipped backwards and almost chopped his finger off with his own skate.
He explained: “As I was skating on the first day around the rink, everyone had their hands over their faces, like, he’s gonna hurt himself because I was falling over a lot.
“They said, ‘You need to slow down. We know you’re having fun, but relax.’ I was being funny and was like, ‘Yeah I will. I don’t want to lose my finger!’
“Then within ten seconds I fell over backwards and my hand went under my skate and there was blood everywhere.
“They thought I was joking because of what we’d just been saying. ‘Expect drama, expect risk’
“All I remember is a producer yelling, ‘No he’s being serious! His finger!’
“I could see the bone.
“Four medics came over with a stretcher.”
But the only thing on Joey’s mind was how the incident would make him look.
He went on: “That’s what made me even more scared, because I was like, they’ll think I’m not taking this seriously. I was disappointed because I don’t want anyone to think I was here to mess around.
“There’s now a big scar on my finger that feels weird and it’s quite uncomfortable as well. My finger’s still stiff. I’ve got bad memories of that day, it was a big shock to me.”
Joey’ was not the only one heading into Sunday’s launch injured.
This week, head judge Christopher Dean revealed he had broken his finger “tripping over a suitcase in the dark”.
And Ekin-Su could miss the show after being struck down by flu.
Luckily for Joey, Vanessa has been a rock for him during his battle back on to the ice.
So what does the rink pro reckon are his strengths — perhaps his energy, stamina, flexibility?
Joey laughed: “All of them! Off the ice or on the ice? Both are quite good. I think Vanessa’s surprised how good I am at lifting her, spinning her around.
“She knows I’ve got the ability to be as good as anyone. We feel very positive about Sunday.
“You can expect potential drama, you can expect risk.”
Through appearances on brutal shows such as SAS: Who Dares Wins and The Jump, Joey has a reputation as a TV daredevil.
Against the odds, he beat royal sportsman Mike Tindall in the final of the second series of Channel 4’s axed ski show but still reckons Dancing On Ice presents more of a challenge.
He added: “I’m very competitive. The best man won, that’s all I can say! On Dancing On Ice you’ve got gymnast Nile but everyone’s really competitive. Michelle really wants to get to the end and win it. The Vivienne is really, really, good and even Ekin-Su — she’s improved a lot.”
Joey now hopes Dancing On Ice could open the door to a new career.
He added: “My whole life, I always wanted to win something, a medal — just to do something really well that I was passionate about.
“I love athletics stuff, I love boxing. I love tennis, so anything like that.
“But ice skating, I couldn’t even imagine winning the show.
“To finally be number one would be amazing.”
