Ben Foden has revealed his biggest worry ahead of his Dancing On Ice debut is looking like an 'idiot.' 

During an exclusive interview, the rugby union player, 36, quipped that he has obtained 'all the habits a skater isn't supposed to', but is unfazed by the arguably most daunting element of routines - the lifts. 

Ahead of his first skate on Sunday, the sportsman, who was inspired by Wes Nelson to join the lineup, said: 'What I'm more worried about, someone's just gonna look at me and be like "what an idiot, why's he signed up to do this show, he can't even stand on his feet!'''

He added: 'I'm really not flexible. I don't bend well at the knee. All the habits you're not supposed to have as an ice skater, I have them all!'

The Rugby United New York sports star was highly complimentary of his fellow contestants, noting Rachel Steven's gracefulness, Connor Ball's energy and Regan Gascoigne's taking to the ice like a 'duck to water.'  

'I need to start leaving some beads on the ice or something if I'm going to get as far as I would like to go in this competition!' he added.

When probed on his reason for joining the stellar line-up, Ben gave 2019's runner-up Wes a ringing endorsement. 

'Wes was the one who really made me do the show. He said it was an unbelievable experience and he absolutely loved it. 

'He couldn't recommend doing it higher. He said it was one of the best shows he ever did. He was one of the reasons I said yes in the end - but I didn't get any tips on his skating!' Ben said.

Ben is a proud father to three children: Aoife, nine, and Tadhg, six - who he co-parents with ex-wife Una Healy - and 20-month-old Farrah, who he shares with wife Jackie Belanoff-Smith. 

He spoke of his brood's excitement, before dwelling on their disappointment when he was eliminated from Celebrity X Factor alongside Levi Davis and Thom Evans as part of trio Try Star, in 2019. 

'They saw me dance with Robin [Johnstone] and they said, "Oh Daddy you're really good!" They're very excited about it. 

'The last experience they had with any show they come to was The X Factor when Try Star were doing it - and it was the last show we got kicked off. So they were in tears at the end! Hopefully it won't be a repeat when they come and watch [Dancing On Ice],' he said. 

The one lingering entity that has made this a different experience for Ben in comparison to his other endeavours is the pandemic.

'It means that we can't see each other as much as we'd like or hang out afterwards, chat, laugh, have a drink. 

'One thing I know about this group of people is that they're awesome. We've just got good energy. I'm gutted we won't get to have those moments after show where we can all come together and hang out. 

'It's important for ITV to have those protocols because it's important for the show to be on - we want it to be on,' he remarked.