The eleventh series of the much-loved "Dancing On Ice" returned to ITV this past Sunday as twelve new celebrities and their professional ice skating partners took to the ice. Last night we saw six of the twelve celebrities show off their skills in their first live performances, while some of them wowed the judges, others left them disappointed and underwhelmed.
Choreographer Jason Gardner and dancer Ashely Banjo once again returned as judges, while ice dancers and gold medalists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean returned for their second time as head judges.
Holly Willoughby having returned from her stint on "I'm a Celeb" called it "The Greatest Show on Ice" as hosted alongside her "This Morning" co-host Phillip Schofield.
First six performances
The first celebrity to hit the ice this year was Corrie Star; Jane Dansen with her partner Sylvian, as they danced to Vic Damone's "On The Street Where You Live." After their performance, Ashley Banjo told Dansen that she'd done "An incredible job," after giving her a score of 5.5. Renowned for his tough and blunt judging Jason Gardner gave her a 3, while Torvil and Dean each gave her a 6.
Next to perform was someone who Holly called "Actual Frenchie, from actual Grease wearing the actual jacket from the actual movie," as actress; Didi Conn and her partner Lukasz danced to "We Go Together" from the Musical "Grease." However, the sixty-seven year old failed to impress on ice receiving mostly fours from the judges, apart from Jason who told her "I felt conned" after giving her a 2.5.
No stranger to a live show, singer Saara Aalto and her partner Hamish performed to "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga and received an average of fives from the judges. But the couple's choreography received some expert criticism as Christopher Dean said "It tied you down," while Jason called it "Typical and underwhelming."
More used to being a leader than a follower Strictly's James Jordan took the ice with his partner Alexandra.
More used to the dance floor than the ice rink, James managed to wow everyone as they danced to Frank Sinatra's "I Won't Dance" and earnt the highest score of the night with 30.5/40. Jayne Torvill calling it "One of the best performances we've ever seen in show one" and Christopher Dean telling him "You've found the glide."
Fourth to perform on the ice was actor Mark Little with his partner Brianne who did her best to make an unsteady and uncoordinated Mark look good on the ice.
In his VT Mark stated that he had gone from "Joe Mangle to Joe Spangle," but unfortunately his performance to "Down Under" by Men at Work only earnt him the lowest score of the night with all three's from the judges. Jason telling him "I certainly didn't spot a performance" before Holly stepped in to say "Don't listen to the nasty man."
Last to perform was TOWIE'S Gemma Collins, who became Beyonce on Ice and her partner Matt who danced to Beyonce's very own "Crazy in Love." Gemma impressed earning herself mostly fours and being told "Gemma you're a Ledge" by Ashely while Jason who had only given her a two said that the dance was "Uncomfortable to watch."
Down Under
Aussie Mark and his partner Brianne became the first pair to find themselves in this year's Skate Off after only scoring a 13.5 from the judges, the lowest score of the night that was also combined with votes from the general public. Next week the pair will skate a new dance to fight for their place in the competition.
