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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

Phillip Schofield reveals real reason for Dancing on Ice 'delay' as host forced to halt show

Phillip Schofield has explained why he and Holly Willoughby were forced to 'halt' the series finale of Dancing on Ice. The hosting duo were back rinkside as the ITV skating competition's 2023 series came to an end.

Nile Wilson, Joey Essex, and The Vivienne all went head-to-head in a bid to be crowned champions and lift the Dancing on Ice trophy. The three finalists all skated an original, 'showcase' routine which had been choreographed by show judges and skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean and performed in a skate battle to whittle the competition down from three to two remaining contestants.

Drag queen The Vivienne and her partner Colin Grafton were eliminated before Joey and his partner Vanessa Bauer and Nile and his partner Olivia Smart performed their own versions of Torvill and Dean's iconic, Olympic-winning Bolero routine.

READ MORE: ITV Dancing on Ice's Vanessa Bauer speaks out after 'fuming' reaction to loss with Joey Essex as she says final 'didn't go as planned'

And it was Nile and Olivia Smart who emerged victorious following the dazzling final, with Phillip revealing more than a million votes had been cast. But during the final, as hosts Holly, 42, and Phillip, 60, prepared to welcome the class of 2023 back on the rink to showcase the skills they have learned, they were forced to stop, declaring: "Somebody is not ready."

And they then jokingly asked "has somebody got nerves?" before the skating could resume and the celebs returned one by one with their professional partners for one last hoorah.

It wasn't until Monday (March 13) that Phillip revealed what really happened as he and Holly chatted to the new Dancing on Ice champions Nile and Olivia on This Morning. The winning pair were live on the sofa following their win and after enjoying the show's wrap party which appeared to see Patsy Palmer on the DJ decks and Siva Kaneswaran perform The Wanted's hit single, Glad You Came.

Dancing on Ice winners Nile and Olivia appeared on This Morning following their triumph on the ice (ITV)

After Olympic-winning gymnast Nile praised the team behind the scenes of DOI, claiming it to be a 'well-oiled machine', Phillip interjected and said: "Well, it wasn’t completely well-oiled last night. We had to wait, because I think Joey Essex ripped his trousers."

He then went on to say: "Whether they were stitching him back together, we never quite got to the bottom of that one," to which Holly added: "We need a debrief."

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