Anton Ferdinand will don his skates again tonight as he continues his Dancing on Ice journey.

The 39-year-old is a familiar face to football fans having represented West Ham United, Sunderland and QPR in the Premier League, as well as signing for six other teams across a 16-year career.

Ferdinand has not shied away from new challenges since retiring from football in 2019, taking on punditry roles for the likes of Sky Sports and talkSPORT, fronting a hit BBC documentary and dipping his toe into reality TV. Ahead of last week's launch, he revealed the sweet reason he had signed up for Dancing on Ice.

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"I decided to sign up for the show because it's a challenge first and foremost," he said. "I'm in a new phase of my life since retiring from football and one of the things I've missed about playing is the structure it gives you.

"Dancing On Ice will give me that focus but I'm also doing it for my daughter because she loves dance and performing arts. My son always had my football to shout about so this will give my daughter and me something to share."

Ferdinand - who has a reported net worth of around £4 million - will be supported on the show not only by his professional partner Annette Dytrt, but by his loving family. The former defender has been married to his wife Lucy since 2016, with the couple sharing three children - 11-year-old Flynn, seven-year-old Lilah and two-year-old Farron - together.

Little is known about Lucy, who has kept largely out of the limelight throughout their relationship. However, it is widely known that his brother is ex-Manchester United and England star Rio, while his cousin Les also represented the Three Lions as well as QPR, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Speaking about his daughter's love of performing ahead of appearing on the ITV show, Ferdinand told Fubar Radio: "I've taken her on the ice, along with my eldest son. They absolutely love it. I'd love my daughter to get into it. The discipline side of it, for me, as a parent, I'd love my daughter to get into it.

"She's only seven so she has no fear at the moment. And she's theatrical, she loves ballet, she loves dance, so it could be ideal for her!"

Rio and his wife Kate were in the audience for Ferdinand's first Dancing on Ice performance last weekend, with the former Man Utd star delighted to see his younger brother in action. The pair - who have five other siblings - share a close bond, with Rio standing with his brother during the toughest time of his career.

In October 2011, Ferdinand was playing for QPR against Chelsea, when Blues captain John Terry were involved in an on-field spat. The pair exchanged abusive words, but TV cameras picked up Terry appearing to aim a racist slur at Ferdinand, and he was alleged to have called him a "f****** black c***”.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Ferdinand admitted he had not heard what Terry had said, having only learned of it after his wife showed him footage on her phone following the full-time whistle. But a member of the public then raised the matter with the police, leaving Terry facing a criminal charge for using racist language and being stripped of the England captaincy.

The Chelsea captain's defence was that he was repeating language he thought Ferdinand had used and was not using it as an insult. In July 2012, Terry was cleared after the judge stated the evidence given by the prosecution was not strong enough, adding: "It is therefore possible that what he [Mr Terry] said was not intended as an insult, but rather as a challenge to what he believed had been said to him."

However, two months later, the FA reached a different verdict, finding Terry guilty of using racially abusive language and subsequently banning him for four matches and fining him £220,000.

In the aftermath, Ferdinand - who moved to Turkey the following year - revealed how his family had been targeted over the incident, while he received "hourly" abuse on social media.

"My mum's house was targeted with missiles," he told the BBC. "I got sent bullets in the post. When it happened, I think I was on over 200 games in the Premier League. I think I played 10 more after the incident - and that was my lot. I had to go and play in Turkey. I came back and went down the leagues."

Ferdinand has said he "beat himself up" over not going public about it at the time and that not speaking out was in stark contrast the values he said his mother had instilled in him growing up.

"My mum was a white woman who fell in love with a black man," he added. "My mum endured racism - people spitting at her, spitting at us in the pram. She went through that because she loved her children."

Terry has said he tried to reach out to Ferdinand in the aftermath of the incident but he declined to respond. He also declined to appear on the documentary 'Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism, And Me', saying that he had moved on with his life and that he didn't want to bring something up on TV which had previously been settled in court.

Speaking on Simon Jordan's Up Front podcast, Terry said: "I’ve tried to speak to Rio, who doesn’t want to talk to me at all. I’ve seen him on the beach in Dubai and he refused to speak to me. I think it could have been addressed and dealt with a lot better if I’m honest.

“I tried to make contact with Anton that evening after the game. And I basically got shut down instantly from all of them.

“I knew Anton, we were mates, we knew each other and always got on well. Obviously, I got on well with Rio. We could have done something that was more powerful than what came about in the end. And that’s probably my disappointment because it [racism] is in the game."