It was always going to be the night's most talked-about performance and Dancing on Ice's first ever same-sex couple prompted tears on Sunday night.
H from Steps and pro Matt Evers were confirmed to be a partnership a few months ago, with H, 43, said to have asked Dancing on Ice chiefs about the possibility of skating with a male pro on the series — and the “fully supportive” team agreed.
Matt, also 43, has been on the show since it started and as well as Gemma Collins, has teamed up with the likes of Bonnie Langford and Denise Welch.
The pair were the final couple to skate on the first live show of Dancing on Ice's new series and their skate to a Panic At The Disco song, brought new judge John Barrowman to tears, with rugby player Gareth Thomas also looking visibly moved as he gave them a standing ovation from the audience.
John admitted he was overcome, saying "It made me emotional on a multitude of levels; seeing two men who represent someone like me and to skate as well as you did," while Christopher Dean told H and Matt they had just made history and Ashley Banjo said they did so well, considering "everyone's eyes were on them."
Grabbing H's hand, a defiant Matt said "this is normal" and plenty of viewers at home were thrilled to finally see a same-sex performance on the show.
One tweeted both H and Matt, writing "Brilliant brilliant absolutely Brilliant. Well done boys," while another reacted "They should do this on shows more often having same sex pairings literally makes no difference. Couples aren’t just a man and a woman anymore."
A choked up viewer tweeted "H & Matt on Dancing on Ice - I actually did a standing ovation and had tears in my eyes watching Gareth."
