A BLACKBURN Ice Arena boss is expecting to give the facility a massive boost after taking a leading role in television show Dancing on Ice.

As well as her place on the ITV reality series' judging panel, Karen Barber and husband Steven Pickavance, a fellow coach, are responsible for training the celebrity couples and choreographing the routines every week.

It is the second year running she has taken the roles on the show.

Last year it had a dramatic knock-on effect on the number of people using the rink - one of the only such facilities in the North West.

The 45-year-old mum of two, of Billinge, Blackburn, said: "It is just great to see people respond to the programme.

"We have a lot of people, young and old, who come down in the evening and weekends just to try it for themselves after seeing it on TV.

"Ice skating can be a real family activity and you get people coming from all over to have a go. It is not just people from East Lancashire that come."

She said people were encouraged to try the sport because the Dancing on Ice celebrities, such as Ulrika Jonsson, former Stonyhurst College pupil Cyran Bracken, former Boyzone singer Stephen Gately and ex-footballer Lee Sharpe, show huge improvements in such a short space of time.

As well as her time spent filming in London Karen is also director of coaching in Blackburn, encouraging would-be stars of the future at the arena that she helped open in 1990.

During her skating career, she took part in two Winter Olympics, seven world championships and seven European championships where, in 1984, she picked up a bronze medal with partner Nicky Slater - the highlight of her ice skating career.

Karen took up her role in the show after being contacted by her old friends, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

She sits on the judging panel alongside gold-medal winning Robin Cousins, Jason Gardiner, Karen Kresge and Nicky Slater.