Week three

A look back at Musicals Week, in which: Saara Aalto skated and sang; James Jordan experienced his first stumble as an otherwise fantastic Phantom; Wes Nelson topped the leaderboard; the ice really hit the fan when Gemma Collins clashed with Jason Gardiner; and the second celeb was sent home...

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Saara Aalto's all singing-all dancing Let It Go

She may have voiced Anna in the Finnish version of Disney's Frozen, but for tonight's performance Saara Aalto channelled Elsa for her skate to Let It Go.

Not only did she skate to the song (which she has previously sung in 15 different languages – check it out here), she also recorded her own version of the song, which she sang along to on the ice.

"I just feel more confident skating when I'm singing it," Saara explained.

And her efforts saw her score an impressive 26. Perhaps Westlife star Brian McFadden should start singing his songs before he dances too (and not drop his partner, maybe).

James Jordan slips up after a Phan-tastic performance

James Jordan wowed the judges in week one, earning the highest score ever for an opening performance.

And it looked as if he would continue the trend when he confidently took to the ice as the Phantom of the Opera – donning a glittery mask and waving a cape around, the Strictly star looked set to take top marks once again.

But in the final moments of the routine, James found himself stumbling on the ice...

While he blamed himself for "messing up" his routine, the judges still awarded him a healthy 27.

And Dancing on Ice fans were left wondering once again whether he really was too good for the competition.

Wes tops the leaderboard

While James Jordan may be the Strictly professional, it was Love Island star Wes Nelson who topped the leaderboard this week with his energetic routine to Hairspray's You Can't Stop The Beat.

Packed with content, the 22-year-old's dance completed the judges' challenge of three spins – and saw them lavishing praise on the star.

And Love Island's finest came out in force to support the series four runner-up, with last year's love-rat Adam Collard sat in the audience, alongside series three favourite Montana Brown.

But Megan Barton-Hanson, Wes's Love Island girlfriend, evidently chose to sit this show out, and was noticeably absent from the studio audience after feuding with Wes's partner Vanessa.

Gemma v Jason

There was always the potential for things to get a little bit frosty between Gemma Collins and some of her Do I co-stars at the end of a week in which she was called "unprofessional" by hosts Holly and Phil – following reports that she had left the last show early because she was bored – and been lambasted as "lazy" by judge Jason Gardiner in a tabloid interview.

And after her frankly underwhelming skate as Marilyn Monroe to Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, things kicked off...

While Ashley Banjo told Gemma "at least she turned up," Jason likened her to more "Anna Nicole-Smith" than Marilyn, which saw Gemma snap...

"You know what Jason," she said. "Maybe if you didn't sell stories on me, I wouldn't have been so upset. It's boring. Next.

"I haven't had a lot of practise because I've been so upset about the press coverage."

"You're just a brat," Jason replied.

It's curtains for Richard

Richard Blackwood and Saira Khan went head to head in tonight's skate-off, with Gemma living to skate another day, despite being the lowest scorer on the night.

With two highly emotional skates, the judges were torn over who to save – while Jason and Ashley backed Richard, Christopher Dean backed Saira thanks to her fierce performance to Katy Perry's Roar.

But it was Jayne Torvill who had the final say, with the Olympic skater choosing to save Saira.

Richard was left visibly emotional, explaining he was "disappointed" to have been voted off.


Week two

Brian McFadden laughed through the pain, Melody Thornton wowed the judges (except Jason, obviously) and we said goodbye to Mark Little.

Brian McFadden cracked us up

Brian McFadden may have partially dislocated his shoulder the day before he took to the ice (with many of us wondering whether he will even be able to skate on the live shows), but the Westlife singer didn't lose his sense of humour about the whole thing.

In these legendary scenes, he compared falling over in front of Torvill and Dean to his "two divorces"...

And he jokingly scolded his partner Alex for mentioning One Direction, telling her, "I was in Westlife."

In true boyband style, McFadden's debut dance was to the Westlife cover of Mandy – which prompted judge Jason Gardiner to ask why he looked so pained.

"I hate that song," he wisecracked. "I only sang the good bits."

He might not have been that good on the ice (he scored a middling 20), but that Irish charm saw him easily skate through to next week.

Has Melody given James a run for his money?

James Jordan stunned with his debut routine on Dancing on Ice last week, even melting ice king Jason after he awarded him an 8 – seeing Jordan score the highest week one marks in DoI history.

But Pussycat Doll star Melody Thornton could be a contender for the Strictly star after her stunning first dance with DoI newcomer Alexander Demetriou – even if not everyone was impressed...

While she wowed Christopher Dean, who awarded her a 7 for her efforts, super villain Jason only gave her a 4 – which left the good people of Twitter fuming...

But with Thornton easily nailing those lifts, could she be, as Dean commented, the candidate for the first headbanger?

Gemma Collins. Again.

She didn’t even perform this week (much to Twitter’s dismay) but Gemma Collins ensured she was still star of the show in this week’s group performance.

Turning up late to the first rehearsal (unapologetically holding a coffee, iconic) she told her fellow skaters she was "The GC, remember?" – which we all loved, naturally – before throwing herself into rehearsals.

With hair flipping and chest thrusting– all while wearing a full-length black sequin dress– Gemma showed us once again why Dancing on Ice should be compulsory viewing on Sunday night.

Ryan Rockbottom

After struggling with his performance, Ryan Sidebottom was bottom of the leaderboard, having to face Mark Little in the skate-off with an all-new routine.

His performance to Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, saw Gardiner, Banjo and Torvill all vote for Sidebottom, so he sailed through to the next stage of the competition – Musicals Week.

Unfortunately for Mark Little, his time on ice was up – but the Neighbours star was left with a love of ice skating.

"We've had a really good time," he said. "I've got a new past-time now. It's a gorgeous thing to do."


Week one

Dancing on Ice didn’t mess about in its first episode: Jason took absolutely no prisoners, James Jordan cemented himself as a front-runner, and Gemma Collins channeled her inner Geyonce…

Jason Gardiner was back at his bitchy best

Jason Gardiner, Dancing on Ice (ITV)

Did we ever expect anything less? TV’s Mr Nasty wasn’t pulling any punches for the first show, giving most performances of the evening a particularly acidic tongue-lashing.

High/low points included him sniping at Coronation Street star Jane Danson’s performance to Vic Damone’s On the Street Where You Live (“If you’d done that on my street, I’d have called the council”), and turning his nose up at the first group dance (“You should have just stayed on the podium”).

Despite being a self-confessed Grease fan who'd previously told us he wore out his VHS tape of the film as a kid, even Didi Conn wasn’t safe from Jason's putdowns, as he told her after her shaky first routine, “Didi, I feel Conned.”

Didi Conn’s Frenchy Fancy

It seems Grease Is the Word (and will probably be the only word) for Didi Conn, with the 67-year-old including references to the movie as possible in her first performance.

She danced (rather shakily, but she is one of this year’s older contestants, so have a heart) to Grease’s We Go Together in her original Frenchy jacket – complete with a real life Grease mustard stain.

Didi Conn, Dancing on Ice (ITV)

But despite her best efforts, she only scored a measly 14.5 from the judges, leaving her second from bottom of the leaderboard.

We can’t wait to see what other Grease tidbits Didi will pull out of the bag if she gets any further in the competition – Olivia Newton John and John Travolta in the front row perhaps? A girl can dream.

Was James Jordan a little too good?

When we spoke to James Jordan ahead of his Dancing on Ice debut, he said his training as a professional dancer had no bearing on how good he would be on the ice – in fact, as all his moves had been inverted, it actually made things more difficult.

James Jordan, Dancing on Ice (ITV screenshot)

But that doesn’t seem to have been Strictly (sorry) true, judging by his dapper performance on Sunday night, which saw him score an eye-watering 30.5 – the highest score they’ve ever had in week 1.

His natural ability on the ice should easily make him one of the show’s frontrunners, but already there's a Twitter storm brewing over whether James should be allowed to take part considering he’s already a professional dancer.

Perhaps the Dancing on Ice equivalent to Strictly’s Ashley Roberts – the clear winner who will never be crowned?

Gemma. Collins.

It was the moment we’ve literally all been waiting for – Gemma Collins actually ice-skated.

We were doubtful as a nation that notorious walker Collins would make it onto the ice, with even Phillip Schofield expressing his concern about one of the show’s star signings.

But Gemma made us all eat our words with her already iconic performance to Beyonce’s Crazy in Love, which involved hair flips, the splits and a stumble (even if it was described by Jason Gardiner as "like a French and Saunders parody").

Gemma was as legendary off the ice as she was on it, with her off-screen cheering even picked up by the mics.

And it seems she was more surprised than anyone that she'd made it through to the next round...

Joe Mangled

Instead, Mark Little (AKA Neighbours' Joe Mangle) is in the bottom two, having to fight for his place in the competition against whoever receives the fewest votes from this week’s dancers.

“I couldn’t wait for it to end,” said Jason of Mark's performance (to – what else? – I come From a Land Down Under). Depending on how the skate-off goes, Jason could get his wish next week.

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Dancing on Ice continues Sundays at 6pm on ITV


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Authors

Kimberley BondEntertainment Correspondent, RadioTimes.com
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