Kent celebrity Laura Hamilton won the Dancing on Ice skate-off last night.

The kids TV presenter from Meopham was up against Nadia Sawalha and Angela Rippon, who both left the show.

Two special knock-out shows whittled 16 stars down to 12 ahead of the contest starting next weekend.

It looks set to be the next step on the career ladder for the former Dartford Grammar School for Girls pupil, who grew up in Meopham.

Laura, who presents "Wake up World" on Nickelodeon Jnr, has been working in children's television for the last 10 years, but she is better known in north Kent for appearances on stage rather than screen.

The 28-year-old was chosen from among 24 entrants to take the lead role of Cinderella in Gravesend's 2003 pantomime at the Woodville Halls, and appeared at the same theatre in 2009 as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

Her latest north Kent outing was to help X Factor finalist John Adeleye switch on Dartford's Christmas lights at One Bell Corner in November.

And she is hoping her roots in Dartford and Gravesham will win her some votes from the borough's residents when she launches her bid to become queen of the ice.

"I'm hoping this is going to be an opportunity for people to see me in a different light than just children's TV shows, but it's really all down to the public to keep me in, so I'm hoping for as much support as possible from home."

However, it's not all been plain skating since Laura started training for the show a few months ago with professional partner Colin Ratushniak; she's recovered from a bad fall which left her needing stitches in her leg.