Eamonn Holmes convinced Saira Khan to take part in ‘Dancing on Ice’.
The ‘Do The Right Thing’ host talked the ‘Loose Women’ panellist into appearing on the ice skating series, after she told him she was keen to strut her stuff on the programme but "didn’t have time", which sparked memories of a similar conversation he had with his wife Ruth Langsford ahead of her agreeing to do ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
He told new TV podcast Series Linked: "Well, Saira’s story is very similar to Ruth’s. Ruth’s was on ‘Strictly’, and basically the problem was, cut a long story short, when Ruth was asked to do ‘Strictly’, she came to me and said, ‘I’ve been asked to this. And da da da da. It’s always been my dream, but I can’t do it.’
"And I looked her and she said, ‘I’m far too busy.’ I just raised my eyebrows. She said, ‘What? What?’ And I said, ‘Well it obviously wasn’t your dream, don’t tell me it was your dream. Because if it was your dream, you would do it.’
"She didn’t take that too well, she slammed the door, disappeared.
"Came back a few hours later, and said to me, ‘Right, I’m going to do it. But not because of what you said.’
"I harboured that guilt all through that, because she was doing ‘Loose Women’, ‘This Morning’. She’d launched a fashion range in QVC.
"She was involved in tons of planning meetings and publicity things for all of that. There was some other program which I can’t remember, but there were five things on the go for her.
"And finding practice time was practically impossible. And really it took it out of her, and it was a big strain on us.
"Saira is in exactly the same position. But I said to Saira when she said to me, ‘Should I do this?’ I said to her … she said, ‘I haven’t got time.’
"I said, ‘Look, that’s what Ruth said. But the thing is, Saira, you might not be asked again.’ Ruth might not have been asked again."
Eamonn firmly believes people blessed with a particular talent or a dream should strive to achieve their goals because they have a "moral duty" to do so.
He said: "If it was your dream, I’m always this person, I went to school, what they said to us was, ‘If you have got a gift, if you’re good with animals, be a vet. If you’re good with figures, be an accountant.’
"Whatever it is. And from a religious point of view they said, ‘God has given you a gift, it is your moral duty to use it.’
"And I always believed that, and I always think what a shame that somebody has a gift and they say, ‘Well I could have been a golfer, a footballer, but, but.’
"But what? I was very, very lucky that as a TV presenter at 19 I was given the opportunity to do what I wanted to do from the age of 11."
And the ‘This Morning’ co-host – who presents the show alongside Ruth on Fridays – believes ‘Dancing on Ice’ fans will identity with former ‘Apprentice’ star Saira’s journey.
He added: "I just believe go for it, go for it. And Saira has a lot of things to fit in, but maybe she’s got a journey there that the public would identify with."
Eamonn Holmes convinced Saira Khan to do Dancing on Ice
