'I want to be THE BEST I can be'

Wildlife presenter and Dancing on Ice star Michaela Strachan on skating, the truth about Autumnwatch and how she's avoiding empty-nest sadness

- GEMMA CALVERT

For 22 years, Michaela Strachan has lived in Cape Town, South Africa, where her natural habitat is the great outdoors. So spending months indoors training for the new series of Dancing on Ice is, she admits, no mean feat.

'Doing Dancing on Ice means that I'm missing the summer in Cape Town. To leave the beautiful summer that's on its way to spend my time at an ice-skating rink, it's a test!' Michaela, 58, who has temporarily relocated back to the UK to train and compete in the ITV show, began her skating journey at Cape Town's GrandWest Casino, learning the ropes from a local coach during 30 hours of lessons on the ice.

'We were there five times a week for two hours. It was intense,' she says. 'On the first day I came out of training and I literally hobbled to my car. I thought, "Oh, my gosh, this is going to be challenging!"

'Particularly as you get older, you think, "Let's teach the old dog some new tricks," she says of the latest turn in her career path. 'I come from a performing background so I love it. It's nice to get back performing and learning something new, particularly as Autumnwatch has been canned.

It sort of fills the space a bit.' Last year, the BBC finished the BBC Two seasonal programme after 17 series, blaming 'challenging times financially'. It sparked viewer outrage and the launch of a petition to save the show, which has since attracted more than 167,000 signatures.