Jason Gardiner has further fuelled his spat with Gemma Collins, branding her behaviour “appalling”.
The pair locked horns live on Dancing on Ice after Gardiner criticised her routine hours after calling her “lazy” and “mediocre,” to which Collins accused him of “selling stories” about her.
Gardiner has since broken his silence on Twitter to thank fans for their “love and support” and to encourage them to “unite” against bad behaviour.
“Back in the real world,” he tweeted. “Thank you so much for the outpouring of love & support I’ve received. I am overwhelmed by it.
“Faith has been restored as we stand united against such appalling behaviour! #honestjudge #KeepItReal #TruthPrevails.”
He went on to accuse other celebrities who have waded into the altercation as “[jumping] on the bandwagon to get publicity at my expense” as well as accusing Collins’ professional partner Matt Evers of “propagating lies”.
Some 50 viewers complained to Ofcom over Collins’ outburst on Sunday night’s show while a further 33 were received by the media watchdog relating to comments made about Collins during the two-hour broadcast.
Collins, who was previously called out for her “lack of professionalism” by Holly Willoughby, was condemned by Coleen Nolan and Saira Khan, who claimed Collins’ outburst had left her children “distressed”.
Piers Morgan leapt to Collins’ defence as he accused Gardiner of “ridiculing” the TOWIE star. He said his comments about her inability to perform lifts were “inappropriate” and “unprofessional”.
Collins' boyfriend James 'Arg' Argent posted a sweet tribute to his partner as he kicked off a campaign for her to win the ITV skating competition.
Collins channelled Ariana Grande as she clapped back at her critics with a clip from Grande’s video for Thank U, Next which had replaced Grande’s famous line with Collins shouting “boring, next”.
Dancing on Ice is on ITV, Sundays at 9pm
