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Dancing on Ice's Steve Backley picks up a cool £125,000 for Sportsaid

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Steve Backley receives a cheque for the charity that helped him build his career... and if the Dancing on Ice betting is anything to go by, he needs all the help he can get with his skating

Steve Backley, currently starring in ITV1's Dancing on Ice, received a £125,000 cheque on behalf of SportsAid, the charity for sports people.

The presentation, which provided Steve with a brief respite from his tough training regime as he fights to stay in the show, was made at Elstree Studios to culminate the end of the first-year charity partnership between SportsAid and Betfair.

Steve, ambassador for the partnership, is closely linked to the work of SportsAid, having been a beneficiary of the charity at the age of 17.

Backley said: "I am honoured to receive this cheque today on behalf of SportsAid. They showed faith in me at the early stage of my career and without that recognition and support I wonder if I would have gone on to win an Olympic medal and at the World Championships.

"But those successes seem a distant memory at this very moment in time. All I can say is that I certainly wouldn't have been awarded a SportsAid grant for my ice-skating!"

Steve is currently a 110 shot to win Dancing on Ice according to Betfair, though the former javelin thrower has traded as low as [10.0]. Hollyoaks star Chris Fountain heads the betting as the [1.71] favourite with two former reality stars hot on his heels. Gareth Gates, runner-up to Will Young in the original Pop Idol, is second-favourite at [4.8] and Suzanne Shaw of Hearsay fame is next at [7.0].

Commenting on the betting Steve continued: "Objectively the odds stack up but we just don't know where people are voting, so anything could happen! It's a whole new world and I haven't got a clue, although I really am trying to make it look like I have."

During 2007 Betfair and SportsAid raised £125,000 in joint fundraising initiatives, which Betfair matched, resulting in £250,000 for the next generation of British sporting talent. Part of the funds will go directly to funding University Team GB as Betfair is 'Development Partner' of the team.

Betfair's Georgina Hard said: "Sport is at the heart of our business and is a passion of our employees and customers. We are committed to supporting emerging British talent and the partnership with SportsAid is one of the best ways of ensuring that money gets to where it is most needed."