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'Dancing on Ice' star gets her skates on for theatre

Dancing On Ice resident coach and judge, Karen Barber has offered the gift of her time teaching ice skating in our Empire100 'Raise the Roof' Auction.

Karen Barber


From the tender age of 14, Karen's dream was to become a successful ice dancer. And that dream got off to a flying start not long after when she won the UK's National Junior Championships and was then placed second in the Junior World Championships.

Karen then went on to represent her country at the Olympic Games, the World Championships and the European Championships. She soon established herself as Britain's number one female figure skater, lining her trophy cabinet with numerous medals and prizes.

Teamed with partner Nicky Slater, the pair enjoyed wide acclaim, despite competing at a time when their sport was dominated by the prowess of Torvill and Dean.

Despite the intense rivalry at the time between the duos, Karen and Nicky achieved fine results, competing in both the Lake Placid (1980) and Sarajevo (1984) Olympic Games!

Karen joined Torvill and Dean on their world tour and now runs Blackburn Skating School at the Blackburn Ice Arena and is a member of the International Skating Union, coaching all levels and ages.

Auction co-ordinator, Harriet Roberts said, 'We're delighted and very grateful that Karen has given her valuable time to support our campaign in this way.'

To bid on the chance to learn to ice skate with Karen Barber go to http://www.empire100.co.uk/