Celebrities prepare to make a Splash! tonight

The celebrities line up with coach Tom Daley ahead of tonight's first show. Credit: ITV/PA Wire

A raft of celebrities will take the plunge tonight as they line-up on the diving board in the new series of TV diving contest Splash!

Dancer Perri Kiely from Diversity, The Only Way Is Essex's Gemma Collins, former EastEnders actor Ricky Groves and Hollyoaks star Gemma Merna and TV presenter Michaela Strachan are among those taking part.

Hosted by Olympian Tom Daley, the celebrities are hoping to emulate the success of Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, who won the first series of the ITV contest a year ago.

Read more: Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards wins ITV's Splash!

Autumnwatch host Strachan claims the pain of a disastrous plunge on TV diving contest Splash is not as terrifying as being seen in a skimpy swimsuit.

She added that she had already been hurt and likened the dive to being spanked with plywood.

But she said she feels most uncomfortable about being paraded in her swimwear for the programme, in which the stars are coached by Daley to plummet from several metres up.

Michaela Strachan is among the famous names being coached by Olympic medallist Tom Daley. Credit: Press Association

She was left in pain after a mistake going in from three metres high during her second day of training.

"I smacked my behind, and I can't tell you how much it hurt. It's like someone getting a piece of plywood and smacking your bottom with it.

"The awful thing is, I know that in order to get it right, I'll have to get hurt again, and that prospect is not terribly appealing. Even going off the three metre board takes huge courage - it's high enough."

The programme will be shown on ITV at 1920.