Fourth celebrity contestant sent home after skate-off on Dancing On Ice

Former EastEnders actress Patsy Palmer has become the fourth celebrity contestant eliminated from Dancing On Ice.

Palmer, 50, and her professional partner Matt Evers were beaten by comedian Darren Harriott, 34, and skating pro Tippy Packard in the skate-off on ITV’s celebrity dancing show.

All four judges opted to save Harriott as they praised his technique.

Christopher Dean said both celebrities were a “joy” to watch, but for him “it is about the skating”.

Head judge Jayne Torvill said: “Both couples this week have shown a great improvement so it’s a shame to lose one of them.”

Palmer, who is now a DJ in the US, said: “I’ve met the best people ever and we’ve been like one big family. Everyone on this show (is a) truly beautiful (person).”

Ahead of her first performance, she received a video call from Spice Girl Emma Bunton as she dressed as Geri Horner for icons week.

Bunton said: “I’ve been watching every week, and you are so, so great. Everyone is so proud of you.”

Palmer then said she “loves” Bunton, who she added originally auditioned to play her character Bianca Jackson in EastEnders.

After her performance to Spice Up Your Life scored 26.5, judge Dean said Palmer did not do a “complete spin”, doing two rotations instead of three.

He added that she is skating with “more confidence”, but needs to up the quality.

Elsewhere, Nile Wilson came top of the table for a fourth time with the judges, following his success in previous weeks.

The Olympic gymnast, 27, and his partner Olivia Smart received 36 points for his performance to Robbie Williams’ song Let Me Entertain You.

He was praised by judge Ashley Banjo for a performance that brought “character” and was “next level”.

Oti Mabuse also said Wilson finally used his “technique to enhance the performance”.

The judges also scored West End star Carley Stenson 34 points, the next highest score on Sunday night.

Drag queen The Vivienne was given 33.5 points, TV personality Joey Essex was on 33 points, comedian Harriott was on 28.5 and Coronation Street star Mollie Gallagher received 30.5 points.

The Vivienne also did not dress as a woman for the first time in the competition, as they delivered an emotional performance to Halo by Beyonce.

Missing from the show this week was The Wanted singer Siva Kaneswaran, who said on Saturday he was “gutted” to miss Dancing On Ice due to illness.

A Dancing on Ice spokesman said on Saturday: “Due to illness Siva will not skate in this weekend’s show. We look forward to welcoming him back next weekend.”