It’s the launch night of Glasgow on Ice and George Square has been transformed into a sponsored winter wonderland. By the side of the elevated Christmas ice rink, little girls in pink costumes stagger around on brand new skates, and nearby chestnuts roast on an open fire. On the ice, Robin Cousins, the former Olympic and world champion figure skater, makes impatient circles, waiting for the opening ceremony to begin.

Cousins is here to introduce the festivities and promote Scotland’s first outdoor ice show, Woosh! which he has created and will compere on December 19. “Production was what I always wanted to do, even when I was skating,” he says. “I’m a bit of a sponge. When I was going around competing I was always asking, ‘What does that light do?’ If you want to be successful, you have to understand what people are doing around you.”

It’s half a lifetime since Cousins, 47, triumphed in the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid, but he has never quite quit the scene, even if, as he ruefully admits, “my days of stretching into lycra are over”.

His obsession with ice skating began as a child growing up in Bristol, where he showed an early flair for dancing. (“I wanted to be Gene Kelly,” he says, “well really, I just wanted to dance with Cyd Charisse.”) He took to the ice at the age of nine and was hooked.

But while he always was a firm believer in hard graft, Cousins has been no stranger to injury and heartache, plagued by persistent knee problems since the very beginning of his career in 1972. Even now he is keen to stress that behind the sparkling sequins there is a fair share of blood, sweat and tears.

His advice for the starry-eyed youngsters, dreaming of an easy glide to stardom, is to forget the costumes and do some work.

“It’s a job. You’ve got to muck out your caravan, go to a different city every night,” he says. “Kids need to be told that skating has nothing to do with the trappings. These days, they’re used to having the best kit. But success can’t be bought. David Beckham didn’t make it because he’s got a good haircut and a beautiful wife, he made it because he’s a bloody good footballer.”

Cousins is equally realistic about the throwaway qualities of ice shows. The sport itself skates a fine line between kitsch and competition, and Woosh!, which promises light shows and Christmas tunes, is hardly the Nutcracker, despite his commitment to the cause.

“We are in the frivolous world of entertainment,” he admits, but adds that the experience has to be worthwhile.’

With British ice dance champions John and Sinead Kerr on board, Cousins hopes their emergent dance skills will guarantee an experience to remember. He sees the Livingston pair playing a part in the resurgence in the skating scene, and is sure that a forthcoming Strictly Come Skating-style television show will stimulate more interest in the sport.

“Skating is now retro and hip,” he says. “They asked me to appear in the programme, but I’m booked up at the moment. If they do a second series, though — who knows?” And with that, a busy Cousins gets his skates on. It may be all glamour on the glittering ice rink, but by the time the ribbon is cut and the opening ceremony is over, he’s disappeared behind the scenes — leaving nothing but a faint trail of slush.

Woosh!, part of Glasgow On Ice in George Square, December 19-21, www.glasgow-on-ice.co.uk

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