Dancing On Ice is reportedly facing the axe as ITV bosses are set to decide on the future of the show.
Just hours after Coronation Street star Sam Aston was crowned winner of the long-running show, rumours began to swirl that Dancing On Ice would be taken off the air over fears that it was becoming unpopular. The show once attracted up to 12 million viewers at its peak, but now the series, which was called “expensive” by one source close to production, has seen audience figures drop to just single figures.
Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern have fronted the show after Phillip Schofield stepped down from all ITV roles over his “unwise but not illegal affair”. Despite the re-jig, viewers failed to return to watch the show, and bosses at ITV are contemplating taking the show off the air in an effort to refresh the format.
A source has explained that while there were doubts over the show’s future, it was still a “mainstay of ITV’s schedule”. They added: “There’s no denying, though, that the format has become tired and they’re not getting the big names they once did.”
To help give the show a “new lease of life”, it’s likely that Dancing On Ice will be rested as “changes are needed”. Bosses are holding crunch talks just hours after this year’s final which saw Corrie icon Sam, 31, beat Michaela Strachan 58, and former footballer Anton Ferdinand, 40, in a nail-biting finale.
“Dancing On Ice is an expensive production and there are questions over whether ITV is getting bang for its buck.,” the source added, adding that staff working on the show “aren’t holding out much hope.” Bosses are also facing the possibility that Olympic gold medal winning ice skating champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean may not return to the show. “If Dancing On Ice continues, we will just come back as judges,” Christopher told The Sun, as he hinted that years of ice skating “takes its toll on the body”.
Over the past two years, the ITV show has lost more than one million viewers, with the 2023 launch episode being watched by 4.1 million people. However, this series has not made it over 3 million, according to official overnight ratings from BARB. Channel chiefs believe the only way to justify the huge costs involved in making Dancing on Ice going forward is by attracting a blockbuster audience, which isn’t happening.
One source said: “There are very real fears this is the end of the road for Dancing on Ice. It’s had a good run for nearly 20 years and has a very loyal set of viewers who really love it but the sad truth is there’s just not enough of them. We need bums on seats but the ratings have dropped to a point where it’s difficult to justify the cost.”The Mirror has approached ITV for comment.
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