Tonya Harding: 'I knew something was up' in plot to attack Nancy Kerrigan

Tonya Harding, left, and Margot Robbie arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of I, Tonya. Photo / AP

Disgraced skater Tonya Harding has finally admitted she was aware of a plot to attack rival Nancy Kerrigan.

Speaking in an explosive new TV documentary Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story, Harding denied playing any role in planning the attack, plotted by her husband and bodyguard.

"I knew something was up," Harding said of the 1994 incident that nearly ended Kerrigan's career.

"I did ... overhear them talking about stuff where, 'well, maybe we should take somebody out to make sure she gets on the team,'" she said, referring to her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and former bodyguard Shawn Eckardt.

"I go, 'what the hell are you talking about?'"

Harding's story is back in the headlines with the release of Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild-nominated biopic I, Tonya, where she is portrayed by Australian actor Margot Robbie.

"I'm always the bad person. And I never understood that," Harding said, in Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story.

Harding, 46, had previously denied any knowledge of the plot to attack Kerrigan ... despite saying in court that she knew about it.

"I get angry, nobody wanted to ever believe me. When I found out that the truth was finally going to come out," Harding said.

She said seeing Kerrigan's injuries "makes you cringe hearing it because you know how much that it had to have hurt".

She also revealed Gillooly threatened to kill her "many times".

In the upcoming TV doco, Harding also insisted she and Kerrigan were close friends, despite repeated reports claiming they were not.

Kerrigan recovered from the attack and went on to win a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, while Harding finished eighth and left the sport in disgrace, including being stripped of her 1994 US Championship title and banned from the US Figure Skating Association.