ITV Dancing on Ice halted for 'sad' announcement as star quits show
ITV show Dancing on Ice was paused tonight as hosts Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern shared their well-wishes to comedian Josh Jones who has been forced to withdraw from the show. Josh sustained an ankle injury during rehearsals and can no longer continue in the competition.
Speaking on Sunday's show, Holly and Stephen said the news was sad and confirmed Josh wouldn't be performing on the show, reports The Mirror. Holly, 43, said: "Now, you may have noticed Josh and Tippy are not with the others tonight" to which the audience shared their disappointed. Holly continued: "I know, sadly Josh sustained an injury in training this week which means he is out of the competition we all can't quite believe it!"
Dancing On Ice announced in a statement earlier today: "Josh Jones sustained an injury during rehearsals and has had to withdraw from Dancing On Ice. Josh and Tippy's partnership will be greatly missed. We will be helping to support Josh and wish him well with his recovery."
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Later in the episode, the show caught up with Josh, who revealed he had hurt his ankle by going over it in rehearsals, as the audience applauded the contestant for his journey on the show.
It comes as Josh found himself in the bottom two on last week's show with Chelsee Healey. The Hollyoaks actress, 36, and her professional skating partner Andy Buchanan ended up at the bottom of the leaderboard on week one with a score of 22 after the first batch of contestants had performed.
After the remaining celebrities competed last week, Chelsee and Josh, who picked up a score of 20.5 earlier in the night for his routine, found themselves in the bottom two.
The judges and viewers' votes for each dance were combined, leaving Chelsee with the lowest score and as a result, she became the first to leave the competition.
Viewers have since suggested that Chelsee should be brought back to the show now Josh has left. Taking to Twitter, now X, one person said: "Bring Chelsee back!", a different account put: "Bring back Chelsea then", another wrote: "That mean Chelsea can come back?" while a different fan added: "@dancingonice should bring @chelseehealey back now then instead as it seems unfair #DancingOnIce #DOI."
Comedian Josh has appeared on shows including Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club and 8 Out Of 10 Cats, and has hosted the BBC Three competition Fast Food Face-Off. Jones has also been nominated for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and has been a finalist for the BBC New Comedy Award.
Speaking when he was first announced for Dancing On Ice, Josh said: "I've not got any skating experience whatsoever, I did it once for a date years ago and I wasn't very good, I was holding onto the railings the entire time and we aren't together now. My dancing isn't great either, for a gay man I have no rhythm, I struggle to clap along to a beat so this will be fun."