Dancing on Ice ‘rested’ with no plans for another series, ITV says

Dancing On Ice has been “rested” with “no current plans for another series”, an ITV spokesperson has said.

The show, in which celebrities are paired with professional ice skaters to perform routines for a panel of judges, has run for 17 series.

It also took a break after the ninth series in 2014 before making a comeback in 2018.

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield hosted the Sunday night staple together from 2006 until Schofield resigned from ITV in May 2023 after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger male colleague on This Morning.

After several years of higher ratings, viewer numbers have dropped with the first episode of the 2025 season watched by fewer than three million people on average across ITV and its streaming platform ITVX.

An average of 2.9 million viewers watched the first episode on January 12, compared with 2024 when an average of 3.6 million viewers tuned in for the launch show, which also marked Willoughby’s return to television after she left This Morning in October 2023.

The skating competition drew a peak audience of 3.1 million across ITV and streaming platform ITVX for its opening show this year, compared with four million in 2024, when Stephen Mulhern took over from Schofield.

An ITV spokesperson said: “Following another successful series earlier this year, Dancing On Ice will be rested in 2026 with no current plans for another series.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the cast and crew who have worked on the show since 2006, and over the previous 17 series, for all of their hard work both on and off the ice.”

More than 200 celebrities have taken to the ice since 2006, including Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle who won in 2013, and Coronation Street actor Sam Aston, who won this year’s competition with his skating partner Molly Lanaghan.

The judging panel included Olympic champions Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill, who have worked on the programme since 2006, with Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse as their most recent co-judges.

On Monday, Dean said he did not yet know whether Dancing On Ice would be renewed for another series.

He and Torvill had announced last year on the 40th anniversary of their Olympic gold that they would be stepping back from skating after embarking on one final UK tour in 2025.

Dean told Saga Magazine: “Jayne and I decided to call our new tour, which starts this month, Our Last Dance because this really is the end,” adding: “There may be another series of Dancing On Ice – we don’t know yet.”

Published: 26/03/2025 by Radio NewsHub