Dancing on Ice's Michaela Strachan reveals 'not encouraging' partner's worries

Michaela Strachan has cemented herself as one to watch on this series ofDancing on Ice as the Springwatch presenter topped the leaderboard for the first week of the show.

However, despite her accomplishments on the ice, the 58-year-old has confessed that her long-term partner, Nick Chevallier, isn't likely to be cheering her on from the crowd in the coming weeks. Speaking to the Mirror, she revealed: "We haven't made a plan for Nick yet because he is in South Africa. He may come over later on, it depends on how far I get."

The mum-of-one also shared that she didn't have her partner's full support for taking part on the show, saying he was "not encouraging". However, Nick's concerns come from a good place, as she told the publication they formed after he watched videos of skating accidents online.

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Thankfully, other members of Michaela's family will routinely be showing up to show their support. "Certainly my mum's coming, my brother's coming, my son's coming, my stepdaughter's coming," she said.

The presenter added that there would also be a "party back at home" for her other supporters.

Michaela has been dating cameraman Nick since 2003 after the pair crossed paths in Cape Town, South Africa. Despite the longevity of their relationship, the pair have no intentions to walk down the aisle, with the mum-of-one previously joking that not being married was the "secret" to their relationship.

Michaela and her family currently live in South Africa, but the star regularly jets back to the United Kingdom in order to film for shows like Springwatch.

Speaking about her previous work-life balance with the Mirror in 2018, she explained: "I always miss my family, but I’ve been doing this job for a long time now.

"Although it seems outrageous to some people, to me travelling round the world has always been my life, and it's very normal. It takes a lot of scheduling, and it takes a lot of juggling, but we do it and we're all used to it."