Gemma Collins has revealed that she was left “embarrassed” when Dancing on Ice judge Jason Gardiner commented on her weight, prompting her to hit back in a much-publicised spat last month.
Collins, who left the ITV competition last night after failing to win over the judges with her skate-off performance, told This Morning’s Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that she “regrets” exchanging harsh words with the judge, but felt like she had to “stand [her] ground” against “body shaming.”
“People are cruel, and I think that’s why I did stand my ground with Jason,” she said.
“There are a lot of girls out there that are bigger than me and don’t feel confident. I had to show people it is hard, but I’m going to get through it.”
When Schofield asked her whether she “regrets” her on air argument with Gardiner, she responded: “Yes. He’s only there to do his job.”
She went on to explain that while she respected his comments on her skating skills, she was unhappy about comments that indirectly referred to her weight.
“I was fine with what he was saying about my skating, but I didn’t like it when he body shamed me. I was hurt, I was embarrassed and I attacked back,” she said.
“I think the first form of defence is attack, it’s just when he went ‘we can’t lift you.’
“Well we know that Jason, we all knew I was never going to be able to be lifted and I was just out there doing my thing.”
Collins went on to joke that she needed to “thaw out” after spending so much time on the ice, and said that she would be investing in an “electric blanket” to do so.
Appearing on Lorraine ahead of Collins’ This Morning interview, Gardiner said that he felt “relieved” after the GC was voted off the show.
“I didn’t know who Gemma was until this series,” he told Lorraine Kelly. “I’ve never seen her show so I wasn’t familiar with who she was, so there was nothing personal until it did get personal, and she accused me of something really quite libellous.
“Actually it was disturbing because she never actually apologised either, so that to me shows real character.”
He went on to claim that he was “relieved for the other contestants in the show,” who would now have “time to shine” with Collins out of the headlines.
Dancing on Ice airs on ITV on Sundays at 6pm
