Suzanne Shaw

Suzanne Shaw

'Dancing On Ice' star Suzanne Shaw has suffered panic attacks while practicing daring stunts.

The former pop star, who won the ITV show in 2008, has admitted she has struggled to cope with spins such as The Headbanger while rehearsing for this year's show featuring past contestants.

Suzanne told The Sun newspaper: "The scariest thing I've done so far this year is trying to land The Headbanger.

"I did it last time but I always landed straight on the ice. I never had to land upright.

"Being bounced over the ice by your ankle and then thinking, 'Oh, I have to land this now', sends me into a panic attack in the middle of it."

The 32-year-old will appear on the show from Sunday (05.01.14), alongside the likes of Gareth Gates, Ray Quinn, Kyran Bracken, Hayley Tamaddon and Beth Tweddle.

Suzanne has also had to battle the elements as well as her own fears during training with professional skating partner, Matt Evers.

She said: "I'm juggling skating training with a pantomime in Bristol and it's just my luck that Bristol's ice rink closed last year.

"So either I get up at 4am to go to the ice rink in Swindon or train in Bristol at an outdoor Christmas rink, which is what I've been doing.

"But with all the rain and wind from the storms we've been having, I've been skating around practically in water."

She added: "There is definitely more pressure going into this year's show because everyone has done it before.

"That said, this year I want to not take myself as seriously as I did in my first year.

"I don't want to get pushed into a corner where I feel like it's life or death if I get to the end or not."

'Dancing On Ice' returns on January 5, 2014, at 6.15pm on ITV.