By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
Some
programmes on television go far too soon before they become the hits they
should be, whilst others stay on the air despite being completely out of date.
One show that has reached its natural conclusion is the ITV skating show
Dancing on Ice.
Presented by
the silver fox Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley, the programme is
currently in its ninth and final series which is a celebration of the previous
eight years where a hosts of previous champions, runners-up and entertainers
come back to make friends with the ice again in a bid to become the champion of
champions. The show – not expected to be a hit when it first appeared in our
winter schedules in January 2006 has become anything but a failure. However,
the executives at the leading terrestrial commercial channel have made the
right call in not deciding to continue with another series after 2014.
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| It is farewell to Dancing on Ice after nine series in March |
This piece
will look at some of the best moments of Dancing on Ice (logo pictured above), the top
partnerships and routines, the blubbering moment where Todd Carty became an internet sensation
and some of those acid tongue insults from Mr Nasty, Jason Gardiner.
Skating with Celebrities
To start
with, the programme was titled as 'Skating with Celebrities' and ITV approached
former Olympic champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean to help perform new
routines and coach/mentor celebrities to perform on the ice. At first, the
skating duo who had captured our hearts with the epic ‘Bolero’ routine that won
gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo said no but after a change of
title to Dancing on Ice and more thought, agreed to give this a go.
10
celebrities competed in series one, ranging from soap actors and actresses, to
musicians, sports stars, journalists, models and Olympians. As the years have
progressed, more competitors start on the journey with as many as 14 per series
in recent years. All the celebrities are paired with professional skaters who
have become almost as recognisable as the actual celebrities we watch with
anticipation. However, only Matt Evers and Daniel Whiston have competed with an amateur
to start with in every single series of the programme.
Dancing on
Ice became an instant early hit, which was a surprise to the producers as
Britain’s love of ice dancing was rekindled. 11.6m watched the grand finale to
the first series, won by actress Gaynor Faye. The peak of the show came in
the third series (2008) when the programme was moved to a Sunday night from its
original Saturday evening slot. Ratings reached a peak of 14m during final
evening when the former Hearsay singer Suzanne Shaw pulled off two amazing
performances to land the first coveted maximum scores of 30.0 (five 6.0s) in
the history of Dancing of Ice.
Panel Wars
The basics of
the show haven’t changed but one thing that has often been reformed is the Ice
Panel (pictured below) and they are a competitive lot of people who want their say and give
natural and constructive criticism to the skating couples. Only former Olympic
champion and head judge Robin Cousins has remained as a judge throughout every
single series as different quotas have joined him on the panel. It started with
five judges, which shrunk to three for series six before rising back to four in
2013. Other regulars have included Nicky Slater, Karen Barber (who also coaches
the celebrities) and ex-Spice Girl Emma Bunton. Karen Kresge, Ashley Roberts,
Ruthie Henshall and Natalia Bestemianova have also had at least one series on
the panel.
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| The current Ice Panel: Robin Cousins, Karen Barber, Ashleigh Roberts and Jason Gardiner |
The majority
of the panel’s comments are justified. They will praise the good parts of a
performance and give feedback on the weaker elements of a routine. Sometimes
this can lead to serious disagreements between the Ice Panel themselves. Then
you have Jason Gardiner in the mix. His comments have often been insulting,
vile and distasteful towards the elements of competition but also fun with the
programme. While some of his jibes have been fair enough, such as calling Gary
Lucy ‘boring’ in series five because
he was others were well wide of the mark.
He called
Dame Kelly Homes a “man in drag!” in
series one, said Kay Burley’s “smile
makes you look demented!” in series two, told Tana Ramsey in series five
that she had “the sensuality of a frigid
schoolmistress” and accused former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies of “not looking human” in the same series.
There isn’t any place for Gardiner to start character assassinating the
celebrities for something they are trying to learn but I guess it is part of
the entertainment value of the programme’s identity.
One of the funniest
dialogues was in series three with tennis pro Greg Rusedski. After another lame
performance from the 1997 US Open finalist, Gardiner said: “You know Greg; you have the charisma of cardboard! You are as dull as
dishwater mate!” In typical Rusedski fashion, he responded back by saying “I’ll make the final and we’ll see.”
Gardiner then said “if he would make the
final, he wouldn’t be there!” It was a dialogue classic but Greg crashed
out in the series three quarter-finals so ultimately it was all for nothing.
Injuries and snazzy costumes
Dancing on
Ice has had its thrills but also its spills. Andi Peters fell over during the
introduction to a show in series one, then got up in typical fashion and said “that’s
Andi!” He was quickly sent packing by the public. David Seaman dropped his
professional partner Pam O’Connor twice in 2006 and there have been other
numerous injuries which have led for many celebrities and even pros needing
medical treatment. The most serious was a broken ankle for entertainment
reporter Michael Underwood which ruled him out of the 2008 series in the third
week of the competition. Although the fear remained, Michael returned a year
later to do the competition properly and was voted out in week four in a
skate-off when he and his pro partner Melanie Lambert were beaten by Melinda
Messenger and Fred Palascak, who is married in real life to Lambert.
Unlike
Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing on Ice hasn’t seen many real-life romances
formed although close bonds have been formed between celebrity and
professional. However two of the celebs returning in 2013 are skating with
their real-life partners. Series six winner Sam Attwater is skating with fiancée
Vicky Ogden and Seaman got together with Frankie Poultney during the 2009 UK
tour. They are also getting married later this year.
One other
thing that has made DOI standout is some of the snazzy costumes that have been
worn. Men in tight costumes, women in revealing outfits, it all adds to the
appeal of the show. Main costumes designer Stephen Adnitt has managed to create
over 1000 costumes during the nine series and millions of sequins have been
used per year. His job is imperative to the success of the show.
The sublime to the ridiculous
There have
been some incredible partnerships in the history of the show. Kyran Bracken and
Melanie Lambert in series two, Ray Quinn and Maria Filippov in series four but
top of the pile in my view was the pairing of Hayley Tamaddon and Daniel
Whiston for the 2010 series.
Best friends
for the best part of two decades, Tamaddon, who recently joined the cast of
Coronation Street was the runaway favourite of series five. Together with
Whiston, they put in my favourite ever routine, which can be seen below. They
danced to ‘Jai-Ho’ from the Bollywood movie sensation ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and
produced a flawless performance that wouldn’t be out of place in a professional
competition.
That was
sublime but the most ridiculous contestant and perhaps the funniest is Todd
Carty. Best known for his roles as ‘Tucker’ in Grange Hill and Mark Fowler in
EastEnders, Carty turned up for series four and he simply couldn’t skate or
even perform. On week three, he made a spectacular exit from the ice arena when
his toe pick got caught in the ice, taking out the cameraman and two other
professional skaters. While partner Susie Lipanova continued with the routine,
Carty was pushed onto his feet, came back onto the ice in time with the end of
the music and then gave a rather pathetic plea to the public to keep in safe
from the dreaded skate-off. It led to him becoming an internet phenomenon and
DOI commentator, the late Tony Gubba struggling to keep his laughter in check.
Carty has
returned for the final series and lord only knows what will happen five years
on.
The final curtain
From the
surprise rise of Donal McIntyre in series four, to Heather Mills
becoming the first amputee to compete on the show a year later, Dancing on Ice
has been on an incredible journey with the public. However it has reached its
final curtain.
Series nine
started a fortnight ago with 14 previous heroes from the show’s past coming
back to perform in the all-stars edition. Four celebrities have already skated
for the last time as Joe Pasquale, the recently departed Hollyoaks actress
Jorgie Porter, Lucy and Seaman have exited the competition.
10 stars
remain with the prize of being the all-star champion up for grabs. For Jayne
Torvill and Christopher Dean, it will close the chapter on a sensational career
which has seen them still gracing the ice 30 years after the first sight of ‘Bolero’
in Sarajevo. Unless it is a serial drama or you are Simon Cowell who can make
something last forever, all programmes reach their natural conclusion and with
format changes, lower ratings and lack of starring celebrities, the time has
come for Dancing on Ice to be retired.
Hopefully the
final series will go out with a bang and not a whimper. It is thank you for all
the memories it has created since 2006 and in around eight weeks’ time,
farewell.
CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE COMPETED IN
DANCING ON ICE:
Series 1: Dame Kelly Holmes, John Barrowman,
Bonnie Langford, Stefan Booth, Gaynor Faye, David Seaman, Andrea McLean, Sean
Wilson, Andi Peters, Tamara Beckwith
Series 2: Kyran Bracken, Clare Buckfield, Lee
Sharpe, Lisa Scott-Lee, Duncan James, Ulrika Jonsson, Stephen Gately, Emily
Symons, Phil Gayle, Kay Burley, Neil Fox
Series 3: Chris Fountain, Suzanne Shaw, Gareth
Gates, Zaarah Abrahams, Steve Backley, Natalie Pinkham, Michael Underwood,
Linda Lusardi, Greg Rusedski, Samantha Mumba, Tim Vincent, Aggie MacKenzie,
Sarah Greene
Series 4: Ray Quinn, Jessica Taylor, Donal
MacIntyre, Zoe Salmon, Michael Underwood, Coleen Nolan, Todd Carty, Melinda
Messenger, Ellery Hanley, Roxanne Pallett, Graeme Le Saux, Gemma Bissix, Jeremy
Edwards
Series 5: Hayley Tamaddon, Mikey Graham,
Danniella Westbrook, Kieron Richardson, Heather Mills, Gary Lucy, Emily Atack,
Danny Young, Sinitta, Dr. Hilary Jones, Sharron Davies, Jeremy Sheffield, Tana
Ramsay, Bobby Davro
Series 6: Sam Attwater, Laura Hamilton, Jeff
Brazier, Chloe Madeley, Johnson Beharry, Jennifer Metcalfe, Vanilla Ice, Denise
Welch, Comedy Dave, Kerry Katona, Dominic Cork, Elen Rivas, Steven Arnold,
Angela Rippon, Craig McLachlan, Nadia Sawalha
Series 7: Matthew Wolfenden, Jorgie Porter,
Sebastien Foucan, Jennifer Ellison, Chico, Heidi Range, Chemmy Alcott, Andy
Whyment, Sam Nixon, Charlene Tilton, Mark Rhodes, Rosemary Conley, Corey
Feldman, Laila Morse, Andy Akinwolere
Series 8: Beth Tweddle, Luke Campbell, Samia
Ghadie, Matt Lapinskas, Anthea Turner, Gareth Thomas, Oona King, Joe Pasquale,
Lauren Goodger, Keith Chegwin, Shayne Ward, Pamela Anderson
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