The loss of three contestants on ITV's Dancing on Ice has reportedly left the show's bosses worried about how to fill two hours of prime-time TV.
The popular competition, which is back on our screen this Sunday evening, has been hit by a run of bad luck with three contestants now currently out of the line-up.
Rufus Hound is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who has Covid and Billie Faiers is missing from the show on compassionate grounds, following the death of her grandmother Nanny Wendy, while Denise Van Outen is out permanently, having been forced to quit due to a shoulder injury.
The actress and presenter dislocated her shoulder, fracturing it in three places in a fall on the ice with her partner Matt Evers before the first live show, but she may make a return in next year's series of the show.
In her place gymnast Amy Tinkler will be making her debut this week while The Sun reports that the next celebrity to step into absent shoes will be TV host Matt Richardson.
Meanwhile the show's bosses have been left with a problem on their hands with The Sun being told by a source : "The trio of absences have caused major headaches. Bosses have to fill two hours in prime-time.
"They thought the biggest hurdle would be getting the programme on air, but they couldn’t have foreseen coronavirus causing a contestant to drop out at the same time that two other stars left due to an injury and a bereavement.
"With such a run of bad luck, they’re preparing for every possible outcome. They’re taking nothing for granted."
A representative for Dancing On Ice has been contacted for comment.
Myleene Klass became the first celebrity in the current series to get sent home last week in an unanimous decision following a skate-off.
Dancing on Ice will be back on the screen this Sunday at 6pm.
