Two of the new ‘Dancing On Ice’ professionals have left the show before it’s even started.
Skaters Meg Marschall and Lloyd Jones were due to partner two of the celebrities when the show returns to ITV in the New Year after a four-year hiatus.
However, channel bosses have confirmed they have departed the upcoming reboot, after The Sun claimed the former couple had been locked in furious rows behind the scenes.
A show spokesperson said: “Megan and Lloyd have left the show for personal reasons. None of the professional skaters begin training with their celebrity partners until next week.”
They also confirmed they will be replaced by Alex Murphy and Mark Hanretty, who will partner up with ‘Love Island’ winner Kem Cetinay and presenter Donna Air, respectively.
Meanwhile, the full list of celebrity-pro pairs has also been revealed, and there’s one interesting pairing that is bound to get people talking in ‘Hollyoaks’ actress Stephanie Waring and Sylvain Longchambon.
Long-term ‘Dancing On Ice’ fans will remember Sylvain partnered Stephanie’s co-star Jennifer Metcalfe in 2011, and the pair soon began dating.
However, when he then worked with ‘Coronation Street’ star Samia Ghadie two years later, he ditched Jennifer to begin a relationship with her.
Then, when he was paired up with Jennifer’s co-star Jorgie Porter in 2014, the pair famously failed to hit it off over how he treated her friend - will Stephanie be a bit more forgiving?
Here’s the full list of pairs hitting the rink in 2018:
- Perri Shakes-Drayton and Hamish Gaman
- Stephanie Waring and Sylvain Longchambon
- Brooke Vincent and Matej Silecky
- Jake Quickenden and Vanessa Bauer
- Kem Cetinay and Alex Murphy
- Donna Air and Mark Hanretty
- Antony Cotton and Brandee Malto
- Max Evans and Ale Izquierdo
- Candice Brown and Matt Evers
- Cheryl Baker and Dan Whiston
- Monty Panesar and Melody Le Moal
- Alex Beresford and Brianne Delcourt
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will be back as presenters when ‘Dancing On Ice’ returns in January, while Jason Gardiner, the Craig Revel Horwood of the ice-skating world, is back in his usual seat on the judging panel.
He’ll be joined by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who will be giving their verdicts on the celebrities’ moves instead of coaching them, while Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo completes the judging line-up.