Former Republic of Ireland footballer Kevin Kilbane is swapping his football boots for skating boots as he joins the line-up for Dancing on Ice.

The retired footballer joins Love Island's Maura Higgins and TV presenter Michael Barrymore on the ITV series hosted by Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield.

He announced he was joining the ice skating show on Talksport Radio, saying: "I am going on as a total novice. I'm starting from scratch here.

"This is going to be a massive challenge for me. I've been taking it easy for the last few years since I finished (football) so let's just see how this one goes."

He's kicking off the boots for the skates ⛸ ...Kevin Kilbane (@kdkilbane77) will be joining us on the ice! #DancingOnIce pic.twitter.com/gyBFPWJUqT — Dancing On Ice (@dancingonice) September 25, 2019

The 42-year-old sports star won 110 caps playing for the Republic of Ireland and has also played for English clubs Everton, West Bromwich Albion, Coventry City and Sunderland.

He retired from professional football in 2012 and has worked as a pundit for RTÉ Sport, Match Of The Day, BBC Radio 5 Live and Newstalk.

A further nine celebrities will be unveiled for the next series of Dancing on Ice in the coming days.

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