Former soap star Todd Carty and television presenter Melinda Messenger were unveiled yesterday as contestants on this year�s Dancing On Ice.

FORMER soap star Todd Carty and television presenter Melinda Messenger were unveiled yesterday as contestants on this year's Dancing On Ice.

Also in the line-up for the ITV1 show are ex-EastEnders and Hollyoaks actress Gemma Bissix, television presenter Jeremy Edwards, rugby star Ellery Hanley, investigative reporter Donal MacIntyre and X-Factor runner-up Ray Quinn.

Singer and television presenter Coleen Nolan will also take part. So too will former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallet and former England footballer Graeme Le Saux.

Completing the list will be television presenter Zoe Salmon, pop star Jessica Taylor, and television presenter Michael Underwood.

Nolan, 43, who has lost five stone in weight in recent years, told how practising had helped tone her up.

She said: "When I started watching Dancing On Ice, I was a size 20, thinking God, I could never do that'. And now, here I am being lifted as a size 10."

Nolan, whose skating partner is Stuart Widdall, joked: "Luckily I get on with my partner very well, as he's probably touched me more intimately than my husband."

Hanley, 47, said his rugby-playing past would help him deal with criticism. "Because of my sporting background, I'm used to people throwing bananas and calling me all sorts of names," he said.

Meanwhile Edwards, 37, said he was in "agony" over Christmas after landing on his hip during practice.