John Fashanu is the first celebrity to be voted off 2023’s ‘Dancing on Ice.’
John Fashanu is the first celebrity to be voted off 2023’s ‘Dancing on Ice’
The former footballer, 60, compared being ditched from the show to a FA Cup final, and joked he may go on to teach people how to skate.
He lost out on Sunday’s (22.01.23) show after gaining the least points from the judges after his performance, and failing to get enough votes from the public in a skate-off against Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu – who landed herself in the bottom two by receiving the least amount of public votes.
Speaking to co-hosts Phillip Schofield, 60, and Holly Willoughby, 41, with his professional skating partner Alexandra Schauman, 42, after his exit was announced, John said when asked if he had enjoyed his brief stint on the show: “Oh, it’s been great.”
He added it was like the FA Cup final all over again.
When Phillip asked: “Will you carry on skating?” John replied: “Oh yes! I shall carry on skating and who knows, I might even start teaching people.”
John and Alexandra scored 19 out of 40 points for their sporty performance, and skating icon judge Christopher Dean, 64, told John: “I think you are the most improved skater since bootcamp. You were a liability in bootcamp, but you made it, you were steady out there.”
Former ‘Love Island’ contestant Ekin-Su, 27, recreated a scene from the ITV2 reality show where she crawled on the ground and prompted more than 100 Ofcom complaints from viewers who thought the routine was too raunchy for the series.
She said before her skate-off against John: “I’m not going to lie, I was really upset thinking what have I done wrong but I’m strong. I need to work hard and prove myself.”
Her fellow contestant The Vivienne – real name James Lee Williams – made history on the ITV show by becoming the first drag queen to perform.
The 30 year old and her pro partner Colin Grafton, 31, scored a total of 28.5 out of 40, with judges Ashley Banjo, 34, Oti Mabuse, 32, and Jayne Torvill, 65, scoring her 7, while Chris gave a 7.5.
Oti praised The Vivienne’s first performance by saying: “If you are going to make history, this is how you make history - congratulations!”
Chris added: “A star was born on the ice tonight. Our very own diva on ice, but you are our best skating by far.”
He went on to quote Cher by saying: “We all invent ourselves, but some just have more imagination.”
Actress Carley Stenson, 40, and her professional partner Mark Hanretty, 37, topped the leaderboard with the highest score of the series so far.
‘Dancing on Ice’ airs on Sunday nights at 6.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with the programme continuing next weekend for the third show of the new series.
Tagged in Holly Willoughby Phillip Schofield Jayne Torvill