Dancing On Ice star Eddie Edwards skates off a week before semi-final

Sunday’s skate-off saw the former Olympic ski jumper Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards face off against Love Island star Amber Davies.
Judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (Ian West/PA)
PA Wire
Naomi Clarke25 February 2024
The Weekender

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Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards has become the latest celebrity to be eliminated from Dancing On Ice, narrowly missing out on a spot in the semi-final.

Sunday’s skate-off saw the former Olympic ski jumper, 60, face off against Love Island star Amber Davies, 27, who was also in the same position last week.

After Edwards and his partner Vicky Ogden performed a graceful routine to Sir Elton John’s Rocket Man, and Davies and her partner Simon Senecal danced a dramatic performance to Little Mix’s Power, the judges cast their vote.

Judge Oti Mabuse voted to keep Edwards while Jayne Torvill and guest judge Johnny Weir voted for Davies.

As the vote was split, it came down to head judge Christopher Dean, who opted to keep Davies as well, sending Edwards packing.

Edwards’ skating partner Ogden praised him as being “amazing to skate with”.

“He’s just legendary. I watch him, even on his own going out doing his edges, he’s incredible to work around,” she said.

Host Stephen Mulhern also described him as “one of the nicest guys” he has ever met.

Edwards opened the show by embracing his inner pop star as he skated to One Direction’s hit What Makes You Beautiful.

Dressed in a black and red checked shirt, the former Olympian performed a rotating knee slide and twirls with Ogden to secure a score of 33.5 – his highest of the series so far.

Mabuse thought it was a “brilliant” way to open as she felt it was “entertaining”.

Meanwhile, reality star Davies secured a score of 38 during the episode after attempting the first one-arm rotating layout on the show.

Weir said he “loved” their performance he felt it was “electric and exuberant”.

Elsewhere in the show, radio DJ Adele Roberts secured the highest score of this series so far as she received 39 points out of 40 for her elegant routine with her partner Mark Hanretty to You’re My World by Jane McDonald.

It came after a number of performers claimed the title throughout night before Roberts came out on top at the end.

The broadcaster became emotional after getting the score as Hanretty praised her as an “incredible” woman.

The 44-year-old previously said she decided to compete on the ITV show because she has her “life back” after undergoing treatment for bowel cancer and announcing in June 2022 that she was cancer-free.

Dean said the routine had “everything I want to see in a performance” including “passion” and “connection” between the pair.

Weir said the performance had a “beguiling quality” to it as he praised Roberts as the “strongest skater in this contest” in relation to basic ability.

Meanwhile, Olympian Greg Rutherford and his skating partner Vanessa James transported viewers back to the 1990s in coordinated all-white outfits as they danced to Bye Bye Bye by Nsync.

They also secured a score of 38, with Mabuse praising them for being “daring” with their moves, which included a challenging side levitation lift.

Made In Chelsea star Miles Nazaire picked up a score of 37.5 after performing a number of dramatic lifts, including one which saw him spin his partner Vanessa Bauer while holding just her hand and ankle, to Genie In A Bottle by Christina Aguilera.

Dean praised the pair as the “ones to beat right now” as he complimented them for giving the audience “diverse skating” each week but encouraged Nazaire to work on his expression to secure a perfect 10 from him.

Soap star Ryan Thomas dared to bare on the rink as he performed in only a pair of swimming trunks for his performance to Wham! hit Club Tropicana with his partner Amani Fancy.

The pair performed a series of challenging lifts, including one which saw Fancy flip over Thomas’s shoulders backwards, which secured them a score of 35.5 – their highest of the series.

Mabuse complimented it as “fun and cheeky” while Dean praised Thomas for attempting rotational lifts, which he said a lot of other male contestants were not attempting.

The judges added a twist to the quarter-final show by splitting the contestants into two teams which then had to compete against one another.

In a mods versus rockers challenge, Roberts led the rockers, which consisted of Rutherford and Thomas, and Nazaire was the team captain for the mods, with Davies and Edwards on his team.

After both teams performed a group routine with their dance partners, the judges voted Roberts’ team as the winners – which gave all the members an extra point.

This addition pushed Roberts’ score up to 40, Rutherford up to second on the leaderboard with 39 points and Thomas to 36.5.

Dancing On Ice continues on ITV.

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