Coleen Nolan's husband on the agony and ecstasy of seeing her skate
By Alun Palmer
EVEN bluff Yorkshiremen are not immune to shedding the odd tear – just ask Coleen Nolan’s husband. He’s been welling up every week just watching her glide around on Dancing on Ice.
Ray Fensome has felt so proud of what Loose Women star and Mirror columnist Coleen has achieved on the hit ITV1 skating contest that it has been hard keeping his emotions in check.
“The cameras keep catching me with tears in my eyes,” confesses 50-year-old Ray. “But the feeling I get when I see Coleen take to the ice is incredible. I feel so proud of her.
“I am an emotional man and I cry, I am not ashamed to admit it. I have never been so proud in my life. It is overwhelming.”
The Leeds United supporter has been getting stick from friends and family for wearing his heart on his sleeve. But is he bothered? Not a bit of it.
“My mates were ribbing me for having tears in my eyes,” says Ray. “The kids take the mickey out of me for getting so emotional as well. Jake and Shane, my stepsons, rib me all the time. They say, ‘Oh Ray’s going to cry again’.
“But when they announce her name and she comes on the ice it just overwhelms me.
“I get a lot of stick but I have always been an emotional person – I cry at films. And since we’ve had Ciara I’ve become even more emotional.”
Ray has been yelling himself hoarse for his wife every Sunday night. And, along with their seven-year-old daughter Ciara, he can claim to be her most loyal fan. But the devoted hubby fears there is only one clear winner of the show. And it’s not his missus but his namesake – Ray Quinn.
“I want Coleen to win,” insists music promoter Ray. “But everyone’s saying Ray Quinn’s the best skater to ever be on this show at the moment. So I guess I’d feel bad for him if he didn’t win – but I want Coleen to take the trophy. I would love her to win, to improve that much that she could beat Ray would be amazing.
“That is going to take some doing but Coleen is going for it with everything she’s got.
“Ray is unbelievable. The professionals are looking at him and learning off him, he has got that much style.
“It would be a shame if this was a one-horse race from day one but with a public vote anything can happen. Look at last year with Chris Fountain. He had practically won it before it started but Suzanne Shaw pinched it off him at the final.”
Ray’s biggest fear is that Coleen might end up on the Dancing on Ice injury list – another celeb with bruised ribs, needing hospital treatment.
He remembers how scary it was when the family went skating in Blackpool a few years ago. “It is so dangerous,” says Ray, a session guitarist who has toured the world. “I ripped all the ligaments in my arm when a kid cut across me and I went flying. My arm was out of operation for six months.
“Coleen was the same as everyone then – cling on to the side and try to get round, like Bambi on ice. So to see her come so far has been amazing.
“I have seen her fall – your heart is in your mouth when it happens. But I haven’t seen her take a really bad one yet.”
Ray is not worried about his wife getting cosy with her skating partner Stuart Widdall. He knows she only has eyes for, er, Olympic champion Christopher Dean.
“I have no worries with Stuart,” he laughs. “She’s in love with Christopher Dean, so I can’t do owt about that.
“If she runs off with him I can’t blame her. He is a legend. She said on last week’s show she had a crush on him… I have a bit of a crush on him myself!”
RAY is just loving the show although I have to admit he’s now turned into Jason Gardiner.
It’s so bad it’s like I’m actually living with Jason.
He tells me everything I do wrong. He says things like “no you’re great, you’ve just got to bend those legs, get more speed and sometimes you look really scared”.
So I’m like, “Ray, I AM scared. I can’t bend my knees because my knees are knackered and I can’t get more speed because I might fall and I don’t want to.”
I had a crafty idea what to do to even things up a bit and stop all his criticisms. I decided to take Ray and our seven-year-old daughter Ciara skating today. The last time Ray went was years ago and he could just about stay up on his feet. So I said to him “OK Mr Know-It-All. Now do a backward crossover.” He couldn’t even imagine it. It’s great because he said “God, it’s only when you get on the ice you realise how difficult it is.”
The thing is, the pros and Ray make it look easy – Ray Quinn that is, not my Ray.
Anyway usually my Ray is pretty helpful around the house but he’s really helping now.
He cleans the house, looks after Ciara, even answers my fan-mail and brings me photos to sign.
I mean, obviously I come home and think “well you don’t quite do it like a woman but at least you try”. Then when I get home he cooks me food and he’s great… apart from when he criticises me. Then I just want to kill him. But I’ve been amazed how emotional he’s been watching me dance – even shedding a few tears as he gets into it.
Maybe all the household chores have made him get in touch with his sensitive side.
And oh my God, have I made him cry. I think he gets frustrated with me because I am a different person to how I am on a Sunday.
The nerves just kill me in the lead-up to the show and Ray knows I’m not usually like that.
The thing is, I thought I’d be out in the first week.
I’ve even had people tell me that women in their 40s don’t win these programmes. But here I am in week seven – thank the Lord for the public – but I still get so nervous. My poor old legs are literally knocking together they’re shaking so much.
Also Ray’s not getting a lot of sleep which can’t help.
Apparently I’ve been screaming and crying in my sleep since Dancing on Ice started. I don’t know I am, but even the kids have said, “Mum will you stop screaming in your sleep?”
And even though he’s so sympathetic there are limits to what I can ask Ray to do to ease my many aches and pains.
He doesn’t give me any back massages or foot rubs though. I think that’d be too much. He’d probably divorce me if I asked him to!
As told to: MELISSA THOMPSON
Mirror
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