Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are best known as the popular hosts of This Morning - but it wasn’t their first TV gig together.
The presenting duo have both admitted they were terrified as they stood in front of the cameras as a partnership for the first time during the debut series of Dancing on Ice in 2006.
Holly, who had come off the back of doing children’s TV, confessed it was the “first grown up telly” she had ever done.
At that stage the pair could never have imagined how successful the celebrity ice skating competition would become, or that it would spawn an incredibly close friendship.
Holly and Phillip were so well-received that ITV bosses decided she would join him on This Morning, replacing the departing Fern Britton in 2009.
However, they would be split up, on Sundays at least, two years later when Holly decided to quit Dancing on Ice.
While no official reason for Holly’s exit was revealed at the time, it was later revealed that she was jumping ship to a rival show.
Holly defected from Dancing on Ice to front the first series of the UK edition of The Voice in 2012, which aired on the BBC.
This left ITV bosses with the headache of having to find a replacement to co-host Dancing on Ice with Phillip.
It was actually Phillip himself who came up with the idea for Holly’s successor - and he refused to work with anyone else.
Christine Lampard was the famous face roped in to fill the gap, having already made a big money move to ITV with former One Show co-host Adrian Chiles in a ‘golden handcuffs deal’ the year before.
"Holly and Dan, Christine and Frank, myself and Steph, we are mates, we go out together,” explained Phillip in 2017.
“Holly left to do The Voice, I said I wanted Christine to do it, I said 'that's the only person I want to do it with’.”
Christine revealed she was “addicted” to the greatest show on ice and vowed to do her best for Holly, Phillip and the viewers when her new role was announced in November 2011.
"I've always been a total Dancing on Ice addict so it really is hard to sum up how excited I am to be joining the team,” she said in a statement.
"My only concern was what a big task it is to follow the brilliant Holly and I can only promise her, Phillip and everyone at home that they couldn't have a bigger fan of the show on board."
Phillip added: “I’m absolutely delighted that Christine is on board and I'm really excited about the new series."
Meanwhile, Holly sent her best wishes to her replacement after the news was announced.
“Good luck to Christine Bleakley on this year's Dancing on Ice ,” tweeted the presenter.
“It's a truly magical show and you will love it. I'll miss you all very much!"
There was some speculation that Holly was pregnant once again, but she had presented the previous series while carrying her second child.
Addressing the speculation, Holly swiftly added: "No.... I'm not pregnant!"
The day after it was confirmed that Christine would be hosting Dancing on Ice came the announcement she had been axed from Daybreak.
Christine and Adrian had struggled to recreate their One Show success and consistently struggled in the ratings against BBC Breakfast.
Due to her £4 million ITV contract remaining intact, it was reported that Christine was earning a staggering £400,000 for the 10-week run of Dancing on Ice.
Christine presented the show for three series until it was taken off air in 2014 amid a drop in ratings.
During her time on Dancing on Ice, some viewers struggled to warm to Christine and she received some harsh criticism.
In July 2012, an ITV spokesman said the ratings had been in decline for years and insisted: “Christine is a fantastic presenter and an important part of the ITV family.”
One show source added: “Inevitably it can take time for a new presenter to establish themselves with the audience and we are very encouraged by this research after just one series.
"She is doing a great job and works brilliantly well with Phillip and the team."
Phillip would claim Christine was “given such a hard time” when she hosted the show and “really struggled”
In 2017, he said: “She is one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life, there is nobody on television that is more thoughtful than Christine Bleakley."
Dancing on Ice stayed off our screens for four years but made a spectacular return in 2018.
Major changes were made as skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean left their coaching role to be made judges.
While the original presenting line-up was restored as Holly was brought back in to host the show alongside her This Morning co-host.
But there were no hard feelings over Holly’s comeback, as Phillip revealed Christine had been the first person to congratulate them.
At the Dancing on Ice press launch in 2017, he said: “When it was announced that Holly was coming back to do the show, the first person who texted was Christine who said 'oh my god this is so exciting, please tell me I can come and watch.'"
Holly had stopped hosting The Voice in 2013 to spend more time with her family.
But she was thrilled to return to Dancing on Ice after the show's hiatus ended in 2018, stating it was an 'honour' to work alongside Torvill and Dean once more.
“I'm so excited to be returning to a show that I love so much," said Holly.
"Working with Jayne and Chris is always such an honour and it's even more special as it's the show that Phil and I first worked on together."
