Ofcom has received hundreds of complaints following comedian Rufus Hound’s comments about the government during Sunday night’s Dancing On Ice.
In the first live show of the series, the comedian found out that he’d received a “golden ticket” from the judges, securing him a spot in the next round of the competition without him having to face the public vote.
Reacting to the award, Rufus told presenter Phillip Schofield: “Mate, we live in a world where people we elect don’t want to feed hungry children. This is the least mad thing that has happened to me in a long time.”
Metro has reported that Ofcom subsequently received a total of 341 complaints after the episode aired, with PA News saying the majority of these were about Rufus’ comments. The rest were in relation to presenter Holly Willoughby’s dress.
These complaints will now be assessed before the TV watchdog decides whether to investigate further, as is standard procedure.
After the show aired, Rufus tweeted: “To the people who want to be cross with me - you were never going to be my friend. I wish it were different, but such is the world we now live in.
“To everyone else, thanks for all your lovely messages. I will try to keep doing funny ice dances for you.”
When journalist Danny Wallace responded with a supportive message, Rufus then responded: “It seems mental that the fact this government whipped its members to vote against feeding hungry children is necessarily party political.
“But, 2021 man. What a ride.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Dancing On Ice for comment.
Sunday night also saw rapper Lady Leshurr becoming the first celebrity to land a place in the dance-off, despite finishing in joint first place on the Dancing On Ice leaderboard.
Six more stars will perform this weekend, after which the celebrity with the lowest votes will compete against Lady Leshurr to keep their place in the show.
Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday night at 6pm on ITV.