DANCING On Ice champion Matthew Wolfenden admitted to being nervous ahead of a national arena tour after he fell over during his first rehearsal.

The Emmerdale actor, a former Brighouse High School pupil, will take the hit show around the country – while still filming scenes for the soap every morning.

He pipped Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter and reality show star Chico in the final of the glitzy ITV show last month.

Ahead of the opening night at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena, Wolfenden said: “I feel really nervous.

“It was my first time back on the ice yesterday and I fell over.

“Hopefully I won’t get on the ice and fall over in front of 8,000 people.”

Victory came at a cost for the actor as he needed two MRI scans after his punishing training regime, and he thanked professional ice skater Nina Ulanova for making him tough it out.

He said: “Nina worked really hard on me, she was never one for letting me go home early.

“She has the Russian mentality of training where you never complain, even if you are hurting all over and it worked for me.”

Despite skating in front of a TV audience of millions, he still feels nervous, especially as the arena tour will see the celebrities go faster on a rink twice the size of that in the studio.

“The ice here is huge so you can get so much more speed up, and that’s what’s making people nervous.”

Co-star Porter was raring to start the month-long tour after rehearsing for the last two weeks.

She may even recreate the dangerous head banger trick which she pulled off for the TV show.

Actress and model Jennifer Ellison, 29, lost five stone for the show after giving birth to her son Bobby in February 2010.