Yahoo News Dancing on Ice's Dan Whiston responds to claims Nile Wilson has been overmarked
Nile Wilson has scored consistently well while taking part in Dancing on Ice 2023, quickly becoming a frontrunner for the trophy.
But the former Olympic gymnast has been hit with accusations that he's been overmarked by the judges for some of his routines.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, the show's creative director Dan Whiston, who also choreographs the routines, said whether he thought Nile was getting too high points.
"I don’t think it's the case," he said.
"We're talking about Torvill and Dean on the judging panel. You're not going to get better-qualified judges than Torvill and Dean. I fully respect their decision.
"You've also got Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse who are established dancers in their field.
"The judges are there for a reason, and I 100% respect their scores. And in my opinion, everyone else should."
Dan previously spoke about whether anyone in the Dancing on Ice 2023 line-up had an unfair advantage.
"We're all learning a new skill. If an Olympian has a skill, they might think they have an advantage because they can do a flip on the ice. But as soon as they get on the ice, they have to skate and they need the skill set to do that," he said.
"We might have an actress on the show who knows how to act the part. That's great and it's [an] advantage, but she still [has] to skate and do the elements.
"I think people draw on what they do for a living as a quality, but it's just a quality, not an advantage. They still have to learn how to skate."
Dan also shared the routine he loved most from the 2023 series of the ITV show, recalling Siva Kaneswaran's semi-final dance.
The routine was in honour of his bandmate Tom Parker, who tragically passed away last year aged 33 following a brain tumour diagnosis.
"You will learn a lot about the person you're choreographing for, you learn their backstory, you learn their tragedy. It means a lot to me to be a part of that story," Dan said.
"It's an honour to be brought into their story, it felt like a really special week."
Dancing on Ice airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
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