Gareth Thomas emerged as a serious contender for the Dancing On Ice 2013 title when he made his skating debut on Sunday night. The former Welsh rugby star won warm praise for his routine with series newcomer Robin Johnstone to the Killers hit All These Things that I've Done, which kicked off Sunday's show as the remaining six celebrities made their debut. And his 22 points from the panel left him top of the scoreboard at the end of the show, ahead of fellow skaters including Oona King, Luke Campbell, Lauren Goodger, Anthea Turner and Joe Pasquale. The performance left Jason Gardiner admitting he had been expecting a disastrous debut from Gareth. "I was expecting you to be a disaster because you're a rugby player," he said, "But you moved very confidently on the ice...you've got the makings of someone who'll go far in the competition. Robin Cousins agreed, saying: "That was strong, powerful...I have to give you credit for what your feet were doing, and as a partner with the lifts." However it wasn't quite such a successful opening for comedian Joe Pasquale, who played it for laughs with partner Vicky Ogden. The 52-year-old funnyman donned a superhero-type costume for a routine to Queen's theme from Flash Gordon which ended with him taking a tumble as he climbed to the top of a podium at the side of the rink. "The only ten you're going to hear from me is ten-tative," Jason said, "everything looked like you were on the brink of falling over." Karen Barber added that while Joe possessed no "natural ability" when it came to skating, she added: "Ice and skates and Joe just make us laugh."
