'Dancing On Ice' Star Max Evans Doubts Jason Gardiner's Credentials As A Judge

‘Dancing On Ice’ contestant Max Evans has admitted he’s not sure whether infamous judge Jason Gardiner is actually qualified to pass comment on contestants’ abilities.

Throughout ITV’s first run of ‘Dancing On Ice’, the show became famous for Jason’s sharp put-downs, and ahead of his return to the panel, he’s promised he’ll be his usual honest self.

However, it doesn’t as though former rugby pro Max will be losing sleep over what Jason thinks of his performance when he hits the ice for the first time this weekend.

During an interview with The Mirror, Max remarked: “This may sound silly, but has Jason actually been an ice skater in the past?

“I've got a big thing...when I was getting criticism in my sport background, I respected the coaches more if they'd been there and done it and actually know what they're talking about.”

He continued: “Getting criticism from Torvill and Dean, who are like the best British skaters we've seen, bring it on, and Ashley [Banjo, leader of dance troupe Diversity] hopefully is going to be nice.

"But Jason, I'm like, 'Well have you experienced this, where's this coming from?'"

Jason - whose background is in musical theatre and choreography - recently slated past incarnations of the ‘Dancing On Ice’ judging team, admitting he didn’t always think that they knew what they were talking about.

In past series, Jason’s acid tongue has landed him in hot water with viewers, most notably in 2011, when he told consultant Karen Barber that “if her opinion mattered” she would still be on the judging panel.

The new series of ‘Dancing On Ice’ kicks off on 7 January on ITV.