'Dancing On Ice' finalists say their prior dance backgrounds led to creative risks

The three finalists of Dancing on Ice have addressed criticism that their backgrounds in dance gave them an unfair advantage on the show, saying it pushed them to take more risks.

Ahead of tonight's final, skating trio Kimberly Wyatt, Regan Gascoigne and Brendan Cole told media that fan complaints don't bother them.

Read more: Kye Whyte denies claims Dancing On Ice is fixed

Pussycat Dolls star Wyatt told the Daily Mail she is "really grateful" for her background in the world of dance, which pushed her to try innovative moves with professional skater partner Mark Hanretty.

She added: "With that [background] comes the fact that we're going for things that have not been done before.

Watch: Connor Ball suffers dramatic Dancing On Ice fall

"When I did the invert spinning split, no one had done that before and maybe if I did not have a dance background I would not have had the nerve to go for it.

"You're never going to convince everybody that you deserve to be there or don't deserve to be there."

Read more: Regan Gascoigne finding Dancing On Ice fame overwhelming

Gascoigne, who has won over fans with his emotional performances, said skating is "totally different" to any other form of dance.

"We know how to operate this part, but the steps and the routines are different," he said. "You do something and they go 'oh, that's wrong'. We all started from nothing to get here, so I think it's different."

Cole, meanwhile, suggested that the number of contestants with dance backgrounds has "improved things on the ice" in a series which has been of very high quality.

The former Strictly Come Dancing professional has been paired with pro skater Vanessa Bauer on the series, but scored the first 10/10 of this year for a routine with male pro Brendyn Hatfield.

Read more: Brendan Cole gets best Dancing On Ice debut score ever

Cole said: "The stuff we have been able to do because of our background has been really special. I have loved the challenge of it.

"People are always going to complain. That is the nature of how humans exist today. We will never change their minds."

The Dancing On Ice final tonight will pit three of the most impressive celebrity dancers ever to compete on the show against each other.

Regan Gascoigne — son of football legend Paul Gascoigne — is currently the bookies' favourite to win, while Wyatt has clocked the best scores across the series.

Read more: Torvill and Dean want same-sex skating couples at Olympics

Wyatt's average score from the judges is 36.8 out of 40, which puts her narrowly ahead of Gascoigne (36.3) and Cole (36.2).

Dancing On Ice comes to a conclusion on ITV at 7pm.

Watch: Screaming fan baffles Dancing On Ice viewers