Remember Dancing On Ice? It was the perfect bit of light-hearted entertainment to help us wind down on a Sunday night. With impressive figure skating routines and wobbly celebrities struggling to stay on their feet, it made for ideal weekend viewing.
And now, it looks like the fabulous skating show could be set to return to ITV, three years after it was taken off the air.
Jayne Torvill confirmed the exciting news during an interview with The Sun, she said: “I love that it’s coming back, it’s great news – I’m really looking forward to it.”
She added: “The Show will definitely be refreshed but the basics will be the same, we will still be teaching celebrities how to skate. It was a different sort of platform being in the studio – we like to be creative and come up with new things. There’s a new bar to set when the show returns.”
The professional Olympian has also hinted who she would like to see get their skates on. She is desperate for retired footballers Steven Gerrard and David Beckham to compete on the ice because her son is apparently a “massive fan” of Steven Gerrard.
Jayne told her son it’s unlikley David would appear but our fingers are crossed. We can imagine a lot of people would be interested in seeing both sportsmen dressed in those tight fitting costumes…
Back in March we reported that, according to The Sun, ITV bosses were keen to revive the programme, and were said to be in early talks to make this happen. The director of television at ITV, Kevin Lygo, was said to be championing the show and was particularly keen to bring it back to our screens.
Skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean coached celebrities on the figure skating series to ensure they were up to par to perform on the weekly live shows, while Holly Whilloughby and Philip Schofield presented the programme. In the final two series, Christine Bleakley joined Philip to host the show whilst Holly took maternity leave.
The dance series was axed back in 2014 due to falling viewing figures, although a source at ITV has maintained that even at it’s lowest, it was still pulling in more viewers than lots of shows on at the moment.
Channel boss Kevin made clear his interest in Dancing On Ice last year, when he spoke out saying “I watched it, it was the most lovely family show, had a really good feeling to it, and was distinctive and brilliantly produced. And actually I wish it had gone on a bit longer.”
It is thought that the show could possibly replace other entertainment shows like Dance Dance Dance, hosted by Alesha Dixon, and come back to fill it’s previous Sunday night slot.
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The programme is most famous for perhaps one of the most hilarious moments on TV – when Todd Carty, of Eastenders fame, misjudged a move on the ice and ended up skating off stage during the middle of the routine.
Singer Ray Quinn, with his dance partner Maria Filippov, were the final winners of the series.
