The biggest Dancing On Ice scandals so far
We've always been big into TV, but this year more than ever has involved slobbing around on the sofa and arguing over the remote. And from I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! to Strictly Come Dancing, the celebrity competitions have taken centre stage.
Now it's Dancing On Ice's turn. The contestants have been announced, Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield are ready to present, and the show kicks off on ITV this weekend [Saturday 16th January].
But did you know there have been a few scandals surrounding the show in the past? From romances to injuries and fix claims, here are the Dancing On Ice dramas you need to know about.
When Samia Ghadie and Sylvain Longchambon got together
You've heard of the Strictly curse, but what about the Dancing On Ice curse? During the 2013 version of the show, dancer Sylvain split from Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe to date Coronation Street's Samia. It turned out OK though - the pair went on to get married in 2016 and have a son together, born in 2015.
Oh, and fun fact? Jennifer and Sylvian actually met on the show too, two years earlier.
When Maura Higgins reportedly replaced Amber Gill in the line up
When the 2020 line up was announced and featured Love Island's Maura Higgins, there were rumours she had stolen the place from Amber Gill.
But the Love Island winner later insisted that wasn't necessarily the case, adding that while she had briefly met the show's producers, it was only for a conversation. "I think a few Islanders from this series went to ITV and had a chat about Dancing On Ice, but it’s a super-huge commitment and I went away from that meeting thinking it was probably a bit much, training constantly," Amber told The Sun.
“I went to see them, though, because I think you have got to find out what something is before you just say a flat-out no. If I get picked for things, great, but if somebody else gets picked, that’s fine. I’m my own person and I’m on my own path. I think there’s enough room for everybody."
When Jennifer Ellison cut her head open
Warning: this isn't one for the faint hearted. During the 2012 series of the show, the actress attempted the scorpion kick, extending her leg towards the back of her head during the live shows. She managed to cut herself, before carrying on the routine like a pro - and being rushed to see the medics afterwards.
When Caprice quit the show over 'bullying' claims
In the second week of the 2020 series, Caprice swapped partners from professional skater Hamish Gaman after she made allegations of bullying behaviour against him. She later quit the show entirely. The model's rep told MailOnline at the time:
"It's true that Caprice is no longer participating in Dancing On Ice. It's been a hard few months and she's had to keep silent for contractual reasons. Her mental wellbeing has been affected over the last two months and recent stories leaked to the press are not only salacious but extremely hurtful. Now she's taking some time to recover and look after herself and her family."
A spokesperson for ITV said:
"We take our duty of care very seriously. We have always been fully committed to ensuring that everyone involved on Dancing On Ice is fully supported and keep a close eye on everyone's well being throughout the series. We are very proud of the brilliant team both on and off screen who deliver a fantastic show each week.
"We take allegations of bullying very seriously but found no evidence on Dancing On Ice and we strongly refute any suggestion to the contrary."
When Joe-Warren Plant split from his girlfriend during training
The 18-year-old Emmerdale actor split from long-term girlfriend Nicole Hadlow, 24, during training for 2021's series - something which The Sun suggest has something to do with his skating partner, Vanessa Bauer. The Sun's source says, "Vanessa and Joe are playing down suggestions of romance, but his girlfriend was clearly uncomfortable with their relationship. It all just seems very awkward."
Such claims were never proven and Neither Joe or Vanessa have commented on the romance claims.
When David Seaman dropped his partner during the headbanger
The highly dangerous move (it had to be with a name like that, right?) went wrong for the ex-footballer and his partner Pam O'Connor during rehearsals in 2006, and resulted in a trip to hospital. The pro-skater had to have stitches in her chin, before returning to the ice with David.
When David Seaman and Frankie Poultney got together
During the Dancing On Ice live shows,David was paired with professional dancer Frankie. They were both married to other people at the time, though they later announced the end of their respective marriages. The pair got married in 2015, and are still together now.
When thousands of votes weren't counted
During Dancing On Ice 2007 (!), the show was hit with 'fix' rumours when Vodafone said 11,500 votes were not registered on Saturday as they were 'not delivered on time'. Via Evening Standard, votes received a message the following morning saying their votes for the celebrity ice skaters had been cast too late, and were refunded the cost of their vote.
A statement from ITV added: "These votes represented less than one per cent of votes cast on Saturday night. Vodafone have assured us that this was an isolated problem, and they will be giving their customers a full refund. With almost one and a half million votes cast on Saturday night, these late votes would not have changed the result of any part of the competition."
Ahh, the drama.
Dancing On Ice starts on ITV at 6pm this Saturday.
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