Holly Willoughby has broken her silence on Dancing on Ice’s axe

Holly Willoughby has spoken out on Dancing On Ice being axed after 19 years. The presenter has fronted the show for years, having first worked with Phillip Schofield and in later years with Stephen Mulhern.

It now means Holly no longer has any programmes with ITV, for the first time since 2004 when she started on CITV’s Ministry of Mayhem. ITV bosses confirmed the show, which first aired in 2006, is to end after viewing figures dwindled to below 3million for the last series.

Dancing On Ice will not return to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, as exclusively revealed by the Mirror earlier this month. Following the blow, Holly issued an emotional statement on Instagram, but failed to mention her former co-host Phillip in the statement or feature him in photos.

Holly and Phil were once close friends and worked together on Dancing on Ice and This Morning before Phillip’s bombshell affair admission which saw him quit ITV with immediate affect in 2023. As cracks in their once-close friendship began to show months before Phil’s shock announcement, Holly drew her battle lines and shared her shock over Phil’s announcement in a now-viral ‘are you ok?’ speech upon her return to This Morning.

Holly continued to host Dancing on Ice as Phil was replaced by Stephen Mulhern but later quit This Morning. Following Dancing on Ice’s axe, she shared a behind the scenes photo of the latest series as well as throwback snaps and wrote: “A huge thank you to @itv, The brilliant team, Crew, Celebrities and Everyone who has been part of our Dancing on Ice family over the last 19 years.

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Holly shared photos from the latest wrap party(Image: hollywilloughby/Instagram)

“Every year, just when January felt at its greyest, Dancing on Ice arrived like a burst of glittering, dazzling light, warm, joyful, and full of heart… It has been an absolute privilege to work alongside true national treasures Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, and to have a front-row seat to their breathtaking skating.

“Watching them glide across the ice was nothing less than pure magic… A special thanks must also go to Arnica, Deep Heat,Spanx and fake tan, unsung heroes of the rink!

“… I will miss it hugely, but I count myself so lucky to have had it for as long as we did. Finally and most importantly, thank you to you for watching, you’re the BEST! …”

She included a throwback snap to her presenting on the show(Image: hollywilloughby/Instagram)

Judges Torvill and Dean already announced they are hanging up their skates after the final dates of their tour in May. The most recent final, won by Coronation Street star Sam Aston managed to pull in just 2.7 million viewers – a staggering decline from the viewing figures it once had with an estimated 12 million tuning in during previous years.

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Earlier this week, Christopher dropped a major hint that the show was coming to an end. Speaking about his and Jayne’s Our Last Dance tour, he said: “After the tour finishes in Nottingham, we’ll be hanging up the skates as Torvill and Dean. Will it be a sad moment? Of course!

“We climbed up the mountain, saw the beautiful views, won a few medals and we’re able to bow out on our terms. The journey feels complete.”

She also shared behind-the-scenes snaps(Image: hollywilloughby/Instagram)

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It comes after channel insiders told the Mirror that the Sunday night series was set to be dropped after sinking to its lowest ever ratings – a far cry from its heyday when 12million tuned in. Bosses believe the only way to justify the huge costs involved in making Dancing on Ice is by attracting a blockbuster audience.

Holly made her return to Dancing on Ice last year just months after taking a step away from the public eye. She had quit This Morning after 14 years on the show in October 2023.

Holly failed to mention Phil in her statement (Image: hollywilloughby/Instagram)

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The presenter returned alongside Stephen Mulhern, who replaced Phillip Schofield after he stepped down from ITV when he admitted to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague.

Holly and Phil had presented the show since it launched back in 2006. Christine Lampard took over from Holly for three years, before Holly and Phil rejoined in 2018 after a break.

An insider said: “It’s had a good run for nearly 20 years and has a very loyal set of viewers who really love it but the sad truth is there’s just not enough of them – the ratings have dropped to a point where it’s difficult to justify the cost.”

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The TV star shared a photo with co-host Stephen Mulhern (Image: hollywilloughby/Instagram)

Last year the show scored its smallest live audience of all time when 2.9million tuned in to one episode, a drop of 700,000 on the 3.6million who’d watched the opener a few weeks earlier. This year, the show kick-off with 2.9million but then dropped down to 2.4million.

Many of the 12 celebrity contestants earn six-figure sums because of the months of gruelling training needed to get them up to scratch and able to perform on the ice. ITV also pays big fees to presenters Holly and Stephen, the 12 professional ice-skaters and four judges – comprising ice-skating legends Torvill and Dean plus former Strictly star Oti Mabuse and fellow dance expert Ashley Banjo.