ZARAAH ABRAHAMS - CORONATION STREET STAR ZARAAH ABRAHAMS JOINS DANCING ON ICE

Zaraah Abrahams has joined the cast of ITV1's Dancing On Ice, replacing the injured Michael Underwood.

The former Coronation Street actress has been on stand-in to join the show since November but will be lacing up her skates following GMTV presenter Michael's broken ankle.

Best known for playing Joanna Jackson on the Weatherfield-set soap and now a fixture in BBC1's Waterloo Road, Zaraah admitted to feeling mixed emotions when the Dancing On Ice producers drafted her into the show.

"I always said I'd only ever want to go in if someone couldn't take the pressure of the competition, not if someone hurt themselves," she explained.

"I really loved watching Michael and ironically he is the only one of the contestants I knew already, so I couldn't believe it when I heard I would be replacing him."

"It would have been great to see him continue. I feel great that I'm in the show but I definitely wish he was too."

Twenty-year-old Zaraah is to skate with Fred Palascak, who was eliminated from the competition along with Sarah Greene in week one, and has already sustained a minor injury, she explained.

"After what's happened to Michael I'm a bit more worried. Fred is saying 'don't worry, it's going to be fine' but it's a little bit scary.

"I've already got a bit of an injury. In training the other day I knocked my shin against his knee. His knee is so strong it was like hitting concrete and my shin bone is throbbing as a result."