Milton Keynes Olympian Greg Rutherford amongst favourites to win ITV's Dancing on Ice

Milton Keynes Olymplic gold medallist Greg Rutherford MBE has been tipped as one of the favourtites to win Dancing On Ice.

The ITV show is due to return to the screen in two weeks’ time and the latest odds have now been revealed.

According to online betting guide OLBG, Greg is the third favourite to win, with odds standing at 6/1.

But currently the long jump champ and record holder is stuck at his city home, nursing a chest infection he picked up over the festive season. He took to Instagram on New Year’s Eve to let fans know he was unwell.

He wrote: “No party, no celebration. Just feeling rough, Fingers crossed it passes soon as I've got some ice skating to do!"

The retired athlete, who shot to fame in the London 2012 Olympics, is no stranger to TV appearances. He has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, teaming up with professional dancer Natalie Lowe on Strictly and becoming the eighth competitor to be eliminated on the show.

He had more luck on Celebrity MasterChef, which he won in 2019, and has also appeared as a fitness instructor on Mr Motivator as well as numerous other shows.

He says he signed up to Dancing on Ice to entertain his children, Milo, aged eight, Rex, five, and two-year-old Daphne.

He told Good Morning Britain: “My kids love dancing around so hopefully they are going to enjoy watching me dance with blades on my feet! I think this is going to be a really different experience but one that will be quite exciting.

“I like a challenge and I needed a reason to go out and do stuff again and here we are. I want to perform something that's never been done before, that's my aim. I'll go 100,000 percent on this. I'll try hard, I'm in no way expecting to be good but I will work as hard as I can.”

A former Two Mile Ash school pupil, Greg was born and raised in Milton Keynes and learnt his long jump skills with Marshall Athletics in Stantonbury.

He first jumped into the limelight aged 18 when he won the senior long jump title at the AAA Championships.

In 2021 Greg joined the Eurosport team for the Tokyo Olympics coverage to talk trackside to those taking part and more.

Greg continued his sporting journey training for the Winter Olympics with Team GB’s bobsleigh team. He went on to host these Olympics for Discovery+ and Eurosport.

After his Olympic succes, a giant metal statue in his honour was erected in Milton Keynes. The 26ft (8m) high ‘Leaping Man’ stands on the A421 Fen Street Roundabout near junction 13 of the M1.

According to OLBG, Made In Chelsea star Miles Nazaire is the current favourite to win Dancing on Ice with a probability of 25%, while boxing legend Ricky Hatton is tipped to be the first eliminated celebrity.

Former Love Islander Amber Davies is currently the second favourite to win with odds of 4/1.

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