Dancing On Ice cut short after injury and Covid exits

Dancing On Ice has had its series cut short following multiple injuries and dropouts.

The show lost a number of contestants who had to withdraw due to injury or receiving a positive Covid result.

Emmerdale star Joe-Warren Plant and comedian Rufus Hound both had to withdraw after testing positive for coronavirus, while reality TV star Billie Shepherd, singer and actress Denise Van Outen and Jason Donovan all had to pull out of the series due to injury.

ITV said in a statement: “ITV have taken the decision to move the final of Dancing On Ice forward by one week.

“The competition’s final will now take place on Sunday, March 14.

“Our production team and cast have delivered a fantastic show during incredibly challenging times.

“Continuing to make the best TV for our viewers is our top priority and we look forward to the rest of the series, on air from this Sunday at 6pm.”

The celebrity skating competition has also been on a week-long break.

The statement comes as Faye Brookes and her new Dancing On Ice skating partner have spoken about only having limited time to prepare for their first routine together on Sunday.

The Coronation Street actress and professional skater Matt Evers are now a pair on the ITV series, after Brookes’ first partner Hamish Gaman had to withdraw due to injury.

Evers told This Morning that it was a “whole new world”, adding: “We’ve had 11 hours together to get ready for Sunday.”

Soap star Brookes credited Gaman with showing her the basics.

She told presenters Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond: “Well my head was spinning obviously but what was so lovely is that I owe everything to Hamish for teaching me all the basics, the technique, how to perform and I fell in love with ice skating.

“And then things changed and I got given Matt and he’s been here since day one, which is just phenomenal and he knows exactly what the judges are looking for and he’s a pro and so it’s just basically we’ve had to work ridiculously hard for the past week and just kind of go with it. We’re having fun.”

Evers, who last year made history alongside Steps star Ian ‘H’ Watkins as part of the first same-sex couple to compete on Dancing On Ice, said: “We are still standing, the morale here is still high.

“We know we’re up against a lot this year and it’s just a matter of making the best out of a weird situation that 2020 and 2021 have brought, so it’s a matter of continuing to move forward, keeping that smile on our faces and hopefully entertaining people on Sunday night.”

Brookes added: “And listen, we signed up for this. We know this is the most dangerous show on television… we’ve all just got to make sure that we take care of ourselves, that we trust our partners, we work together and at the end of the day we just want to put on a good show at the end of the week.”

The remaining contestants, including Brookes, are Lady Leshurr, Colin Jackson, Sonny Jay and Rebekah Vardy.

They will all skate to routines in a movie week theme.

Dancing On Ice returns to STV on February 28 at 6pm.