MICHAEL Barrymore has encouraged his Dancing On Ice replacement Radzi Chinyanganya to be “fearless” tonight.
The legendary telly host has lent his support to Radzi, who shot to fame on Blue Peter, after he injured himself during training.
Radzi, 33, told the Mirror: “I grew up watching Michael and for me he’s one of the best entertainers ever.
“He would have been brilliant on the show.
“We got in touch and he very graciously surprised me by coming down to Bovingdon [where the show is filmed] and saying he is fully behind me.
“His actual words were ‘be fearless’. When you are standing on a couple of sticks of metal and going at speed on ice, you don’t think ‘I’m going to be fearless’, but I am trying.”
Before presenting Blue Peter, Radzi hosted London 2012 Olympic coverage and also CBBC’s Wild.
Since then he has fronted numerous shows including Songs of Praise and Match of the Day Kickabout.
It was announced on December 18, 2019, that Radzi would be joining the Dancing On Ice line-up as Barrymore’s replacement after he was forced to pull out.
Michael was hoping to resurrect his career, and was devastated when he fell in training, shattering a bone in his hand.
The accident came as a blow as the funnyman, 67, was one of the star signings for the ITV series.
A source said: “It’s a real shame for Michael as he was hoping this would be his big comeback, but after his injury there is no way he could continue.
“Radzi is now going to have to get up to speed really quickly to get ready for the series which is now only weeks away.”
The Sun revealed in September that Barrymore was taking part in the series — which would have been his first major TV appearance since he starred in Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, finishing second.
He apologised on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in June for Stuart Lubbock’s death in his swimming pool in 2001, over which he was never charged.
And speaking shortly afterwards, he stated he was keen to return to the spotlight.
