Dancing On Ice's Michaela Strachan is already hailed by viewers as 'first female winner in 12 years' as she tops leaderboard in first episode

Dancing On Ice's viewers couldn't stop raving over Michaela Strachan's incredible performance during the launch episode of the show.

Fans were quick to brand her the next 'first female winner in 12 years' after the wildlife presenter, 58, topped the leaderboard with a staggering 30.5 points.

The Springwatch host stunned people at home as well as judges while performing to Let's Do It from Cole Porter, alongside her skating pro partner Mark Hanretty.

It was a successful entrance for the former Countryfile star, who easily captured the nation's hearts.

Fans of the hit ITV series were over the moon and raced to show support commenting on X - where they branded Michaela a 'dark horse' and the 'performance of the night', penning:

'#DancingOnIce michaela did so good and slayed she then gets a 30.5 CHEERS EVERYONE';

'I give Michaela and Mark an 8.5. THIS WAS EXCEPTIONAL! The speed, the flow, the coverage of the ice, the transitions, the extensions into the fingertips, the pizazz, YOU ARE THE ONE TO BEAT! #DancingOnIce';

'I think Michaela Strachan is going to be great in this competition #DancingOnIce';

'So happy to see that Michaela is already a beautiful skater, I loved that!! I want more than anything for wonderful Mark to get to skate Bolero on the show - especially as this is his final year #DancingOnIce';

'Mark and Michaela were so good, Mark always brings the best out of his partners just like he did with Adele last year. #DancingOnIce';

'That was really nice from Michaela. #DancingOnIce';

'Michaela is definitely the best so far, a cute routine that's how you do a mix of solo and partner skating #DancingOnIce';

'I knew it. Solo skating, great performance. Michaela Strachan is our first female Dancing on Ice winner in 12 years #DancingOnIce';

'Cracking start Michaela! #DancingOnIce';

'I knew Michaela was going to be a surprise #DancingOnIce';

'#DancingOnIce @michaelastracha was incredible!!!!! So much better then I thought she'd be. A real dark horse great choreo from @mark_hanretty as well'; 

'Michaela was really good…#DancingOnIce';

'Performance of the night #dancingonice #Michaela'.

Dancing On Ice returned to our screens on Sunday evening as this year's cast of celebrities lace up their skates for the 2025 series.

Presenters Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern return to host the ITV show in which celebrities pair up with professional skaters to dance on an ice rink in front of judges Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Oti Mabuse and Ashley Banjo.

This year will see Love Island star Chris Taylor, TOWIE stars Dan Edgar and Ferne McCann plus soap actors Sam Aston, Charlie Brooks and Chelsee Healey compete alongside Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave, former footballer Anton Ferdinand, comedian Josh Jones, The Traitors finalist Mollie Pearce.

Earlier this week just ahead of the episode launch - the wildlife presenter has opened up on the importance of 'pushing yourself out of your comfort zone'.

But despite being happy about saying yes to taking part in the ITV show, Michaela admitted she is frustrated at her lack of flexibility during training sessions.

The Springwatch host said in an exclusive interview with MailOnline: 'I think it's great when you're a bit older and you are able to push yourself out of your comfort zone. 

'I spent my entire career pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and it's great to be able to continue to do that.'

She added: 'Do you know what I'm really frustrated at is, when I was much younger, I was really supple. I could do the splits easily.

'Now, as I've got older, I'm a lot stiffer than I used to be, and I do get a bit frustrated with that. You know, when Mark's getting me to do an arabesque, that leg would have been up there in the old days. Now it's lucky to get to 90 degrees, which is slightly frustrating, and because of that I'm pushing it up there. 

'So I have a little bit of pain in the lower back and the hip flexors, but actually not too bad shape.'

Michaela looked incredible in a dark blue satin shift dress as she posed for snaps at the Dancing On Ice photocall on Wednesday.

She admitted that ditching her 'thermals and walking boots for 'eyelash and hair extensions' is out of her comfort zone. 

'It's a bit out of my comfort zone. This is a girl that's used to thermals, woolly hats, scarves and proper walking boots, so this is very different,' she said.

'Let's face it, if you sign the dotted line, you're Dancing on Ice, you've got to go with the glitter and the jazz hands.

'I actually requested to have less eyelashes and hair extensions, but I think we're just at the beginning.'

It comes opened up about the emotional toll of her breast cancer battle and lifted the lid on her worries ahead of her Dancing On Ice stint.

She was diagnosed at the beginning of 2014 after a routine mammogram, and went on to make a full recovery after a double mastectomy which was followed by reconstructive surgery.

When it comes to taking part in the ITV show, Michaela has candidly admitted it's the tight tops that bother her, not the fear of horrifying injuries.

She laughed nervously: 'Who thought it was a good idea to put knives on the bottom of boots, skate around and do fancy tricks on a slidy surface? That is wonderfully absurd!'

The show has claimed quite a few high-profile casualties over the years with Olympian Greg Rutherford tearing his abdominal muscles last time around.

Jennifer Ellison sliced her own head with a skate in a previous series, Denise Van Outen dislocated a shoulder and Vanilla Ice was knocked out cold.

Even the professionals who partner with celebrities have been slashed by stray blades.

'I was worried,' admitted Michaela. 'When I first said yes to this, my partner Nick and I rather stupidly looked at a compilation of all the accidents on YouTube. Nick looked at me and said, 'Please don't do it. This is really stupid.'

When quizzed on whether she was close to quitting, Michaela revealed: 'I did think hard about it. I'm 58 years old, I'm lucky to be fit and healthy, having had a cancer scare in my life.

'My soul food is hiking in the mountains. Do I want to jeopardise that? Do I want an injury I'll never get over? I did have second thoughts.'

She asked about accidents during the medical and was told only one contestant had ever got cold feet and left before the contest started. 'I thought, 'No, I'm not a quitter. I agreed to this, let's get on with it.'

Michaela was born in Surrey but moved to Cape Town in 2002 after falling in love with Nick Chevallier, a South African cameraman and producer.

She started her training with a local coach there. 'For the first week I was terrified of falling. Then I did fall and I didn't hurt myself. I thought, 'Right, it's fine.' Obviously some people do get hurt badly; let's hope I'm not one of them.'

Now Michaela has left Nick 8,500 miles away to live in an Airbnb on a farm near Henley while she trains for four hours a day at an ice rink in Slough.

'This is the perfect year for this, the first time I could have done it, as my child has started university.'

Dancing On Ice returned Sunday January 12 at 6.30pm, live on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.