Dancing On Ice reveals 'brutal' elimination twist during 2025 launch show
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In the premiere of Dancing on Ice's 2025 series, the show reintroduced a twist from the previous season. The ITV competition returned on Sunday evening (January 12) with a live show and was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. The first six celebrities—Sam Aston, Ferne McCann, Chelsee Healey, Anton Ferdinand, Michaela Strachan, and Chris Taylor - performed their debut routines, receiving scores from judges Oti Mabuse, Ashley Banjo, Christopher Dean, and Jayne Torvill.
After the performances, co-host Stephen Mulhern announced that, as in the prior series, there would be no skate-off to save contestants. Instead, the couple with the lowest combined judges' scores and public votes would be eliminated directly. Mulhern commented on the change, saying, "It's brutal but I love it.".
While many were excited to see the show back for its 17th season, some took issue with the "cringe" jokes that host Stephen, 47, cracked. The TV host demonstrated that he’s still a master of light entertainment with a recurring gag about mixing up contestant names and professions.
He joked that Anton would need a net, playfully overlooking that his skating partner’s name is Annette Dytrt. Another quip involved confusing Michaela as a "naturist" instead of a nature expert. Many took to X to complain about Stephen's repertoire, with one writing: "These jokes they’re not even funny #DancingOnIce." Another typing: "The jokes between Stephen and Holly are soooooo cringe #DancingOnIce." And a further fan complaining: "Who’s writing the script, the jokes are cringeworthy #DancingOnIce.".
