£350,000 crystal-encrusted dresses, 200 cans of hairspray and glittery make-up galore: FEMAIL gets an exclusive peek behind the scenes at Dancing on Ice
- FEMAIL went behind the scenes on location at Elstree Studios
- Mingled with stars, including Suzanne Shaw and Kyran Bracken
- Met the experts who make the weekly dose of glamour happen
By RUTH STYLES
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'When anybody says "street" to me, that is like a red rag to a bull because I cannot bear that word! What does that mean? Would you like Borehamwood High Street or Sloane Square? What would you like?!'
We're tucked away in a portakabin behind Elstree Studios and Stephen Adnitt, ITV's resident king of bling - and Dancing on Ice's chief costume designer - is explaining why urban just won't cut the mustard.
'If you ask people to define it, they really don't know what they mean,' he exclaims. 'To me, it means a pair of jeans, a hoodie... I find that boring!'
King of bling: Dancing on Ice costume designer Stephen Adnitt shows off one of his jewel-encrusted creations
Sparkling: A member of the wardrobe team puts the finishing touches to a skating costume
Glitzy: Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle takes to the ice in one of Stephen's gem-encrusted ensembles
Luckily for Stephen, urban is not something he's asked for very often. ITV's flagship dancing show, now in its ninth and final series, is better known for sparkle, bling and lashings of glitter.
'The perfect costume is one that's dripping in jewels from head to toe,' he adds, pointing to the gem-encrusted creations hanging from a forest of rails lining the tiny room.
And it's a look that doesn't come cheap. 'I'd hate to add it up,' he admits. 'I imagine, over the nine years we've been doing this, it would come to millions upon millions upon millions.
'You can spend £350,000 or so on one costume. Just millions and millions! It's the crystals really - the stones are very expensive.'
Sparkling though they might be, jewel-studded ensembles are just one part of the industrial strength dose of glamour doled out each Sunday.
The show, currently starring actress Suzanne Shaw, former England rugby star Kyran Bracken and X-Factor runner-up Ray Quinn, boasts a phalanx of hair and make-up experts employed to whip skaters and celebrities alike into sparkling shape.
Among them is Rene Metcalfe, a cheerful Australian airbrush expert who heads the make-up team and confesses to having a horror of lipstick airkisses.
'Lipstick on the side of the face - that's the worst nightmare,' she reveals. 'In between the commercial breaks, we run in and will be powdering them down and getting rid of the lipstick on the cheek.'
But her job involves much more than removing stray smears of pigment. Along with holding the keys to cupboards crammed with false eyelashes and marshalling the other make-up artists, Rene also masterminds the beauty looks - all of which have to pass muster on HD TV.
Ready for her close-up: Suzanne Shaw waits for Rene to stop talking to FEMAIL and finish her make-up
Looking good: Kyran Bracken, apparently a fan of glitter, gets some attention from one of the make-up team
Pass me the falsies! The team at Dancing On Ice go through 'hundreds of packets' of false eyelashes
'Because it's on HD, there's no room for fault,' she explains. 'Because it's on live telly, there's no room for retouching - this is it.
'We have to camera check it in the morning [before the show goes out] and then we go we need to add here, take off there to make it perfect.'
As she chats, Suzanne Shaw breezes in, her hair pinned into an elegant roll, but still dressed in her black spandex practice gear.
The make-up room hums with activity, celebrities and make-up artists rushing back and forth as showtime approaches.
Rene doesn't bat an eyelid and carries on talking while dabbing pink glitter onto Shaw's eyelids.
'We start with HD ready treatments the day before, and on the day, we airbrush the make-up on so it's really smooth and flawless,' she continues.
'We use Mistair because it's a really velvety looking on camera. You've got all the lights so you have to compensate and you're on ice, so the ice blows out all the colour which is a challenge.
Lipstick patrol: One of the make-up team gives judge Ashley Roberts a touch-up during a commercial break
Slick: Last week's top scoring performer Ray Quinn gets bronzed up ahead of his appearance on the ice
SECRETS OF THE AIRBRUSH REVEALED: HOW TO GET A DOI-WORTHY LOOK
The experts at Mistair reveal how to make airbrush make-up work for you:
- Ensure you have a good base to work on so cleanse, tone, moisturise prior to any airbrush make-up application
- A good primer will always ensure that the airbrush make-up is flawless – StageLine’s ‘Silk Veil’ due to its silicone content will even out the skin, reduce open pores and also targets the signs of ageing – apply after moisturising but before airbrush make-up.
- Ensure that your airbrush is clean – if you are using a silicone based make-up always use a silicone cleaner – this will prevent the airbrush becoming blocked/clogged and will ensure an even application which in turn will create a ‘flawless’ finish.
- Ensure that you are working at the right PSI – too high will cause the airbrush to splatter the make-up, too low and you will not get the right level of coverage.
- Airbrush make-up is transfer and rub resistant when dry but using a translucent powder such as StageLine Transparent Powder in ‘Neutral’ will prevent any shine from coming through.
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'You've got to take all that into consideration but it is good fun.' She pauses, before smiling and admitting: 'It's the most fun show I've worked on!'
Someone else who's having fun is Suzanne Shaw, who waxes lyrical about the make-up and reveals that she loves getting to wear false lashes - so much so, she's even sported them during trips to Tesco.
'With acting, especially in Emmerdale, you're meant to have the girl next door look,' she explains. 'Your character isn't meant to know how to do great make-up like this, so there's never anything you would do on a show like that.
'Theatre, you've got to go heavy and you can't really do anything but be heavy, so it's always thick lashes, eyes and lips.
'And then with Hear'Say, it wouldn't be bling or anything like that. This is a bit of an adventure and that's what I love about the show. You're doing stuff that you wouldn't otherwise do!'
Behind her, rugby star Kyran is chuckling away, so quick as a flash, Rene pipes up: 'Kyran demands the most crystals and the most lashes every week!'
'Something like that,' he chortles. 'Nails, tan... You can't go without the Dancing On Ice orange,' says Rene mischievously.
'Everyone's in that beautiful golden colour,' she amends. 'Sunkissed!'
Kyran, now sporting an artificial glow, is also there when we sit down with hairstylist extraordinaire, Paul Haskell.
The man behind the glamorous 'do's that have become a Dancing on Ice staple, Paul gets excited when you mention beehives but says a swishy ponytail should be the style of choice for aspiring figure skaters.
'I like a really thick ponytail,' he reveals. 'I know it sounds simple but it looks great when they move.
'On the ice it whips around and when you see them do the headbanger, it looks great because the hair is touching the ice. A quiff and a ponytail is always my favourite.'
Finishing touch: Head hair stylist Paul Askell gives Ray Quinn's quiff a final spritz of hairspray
Glamorous: Hungarian figure skater Maria Filippov is given an elegant waved up-do by Paul and his team
Favourite: Paul loves working with Torvill and Dean and always does their hair personally
As with make-up and costumes, hair looks are designed to work with each dancer's choice of music and, despite being tricky to create, are done on the day with no rehearsal.
'That's the stressful part because on a live show day, we've got an hour to do it and the team don't get a chance to rehearse the looks,' explains Paul.
'I give them a brief and they have to nail it in an hour.'
He adds: 'I wouldn't design something that isn't doable and I know what my team is capable of doing so I tend to try and match up the celebrity with the hairdresser that can create that look.
'My team is made up of a mix of hairdressers who've come from a theatre background, so they're very strong on period looks, wigs and that kind of thing, and then I have hairdressers who come from a more high fashion background so they do the more modern looks.
'Personally, I like good old-school Hollywood glamour. I like the 50s and 60s looks. They're hard to create and they just look really glamorous - perfect for light entertainment really. It's pure escapism!'
Back in the portakabin, Stephen is mulling over the costumes that will appear on the show in two weeks time, and wrestling with the thorny problem of making the male contestants look glamorous - whether they like it or not.
'We've had people that come in and they really don't want the sparkle,' he says. 'Kieran, David [Seaman], Donal [MacIntyre], Dr Hilary... but by about show three, they're like "can I have some more sparkle?" and they really get into it.
Then there's colour. 'A lot of them say they don't like pink or there's a big long face when you say "you've got pink this week" so last time, I got a cutting from the newspaper with a headline that said "Real Men Wear Pink" and stuck it on the wall. It made absolutely no difference whatsoever.'
All set! One of the wardrobe team shows off one of the gem-encrusted belt used to bling up the boys' outfits
Delicate work: A member of the wardrobe team stitches a Swarovski crystal onto one of the dresses
They might not like it but as Stephen points out, glitz and glamour are all part of the appeal when it comes to Dancing on Ice.
'It's almost like doing light entertainment in the 80s, all that sparkle and all that glamour,' he muses.
'It's like turning the clock back and bringing all that glamour back. You've got this [Dancing on Ice] and you've got Strictly but there's not that many more [TV shows] that have all the sparkle and showbiz of this sort of thing.
'I think people do watch it to look at the costumes and the make-up,' he concludes, before pausing and adding: 'I really hope they do!'
Dancing on Ice, Sunday at 6.30pm on ITV
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