Dancing On Ice fans issue brutal final verdict as they say ITV show is 'way past sell-by'
The finalists of Dancing On Ice took to the ice for the last time on Sunday night in the hopes of being crowned the winner of this year's series. However, amid reports that the ITV show is facing the axe, some fans fumed that it is "way past its sell-by date" and should not return next year.
The show, presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern, is judged by a panel comprised of dancer and Diversity star Ashley Banjo, former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, and retired Olympic skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. This year's finalists were former footballer Anton Ferdinand, Coronation Street actor Sam Aston and Springwatch presenter Michaela Strachan.
Minutes into the final airing, one fan wrote on Twitter/X: "I’m going to be honest, I think #DancingOnIce comes to an end tonight, not only for the series but the show as a whole!"
Another replied: "Couldn’t agree more. The skaters not a patch on likes of Ray, Hayley, Beth etc! It’s defo run its course."
A third said: "Let’s hope. @ITV surely have read the room. It’s become a tick box exercise and is way past its sell by date."
And a fourth scathed: "This series is absolutely dire. Not sure why they ever brought it back after it was cancelled the first time. Hopefully this is the end forever. #dancingonice."
It was reported earlier this week that Dancing On lce could potentially face the axe after experiencing a dramatic slump in ratings.
Figures have shown a worrisome downward trend, with an all-time low of just 2.9 million viewers for one episode in 2024, plummeting from the 3.6 million who had tuned in for the season's start. The decline continued into 2025, seeing the launch episode's audience remain at 2.9 million and dropping further to 2.4 million by its fifth week.
Based on BARB's official overnight data, Dancing on Ice has shed over a million fans in two years, from a peak of 4.1 million in 2023 to struggling to reach 3 million this series.
A source told the Mirror: "There are very real fears this is the end of the road for Dancing on Ice. 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. We need bums on seats but the ratings have dropped to a point where it's difficult to justify the cost."
ITV spoke out on the fate of Dancing on Ice, with a spokesperson telling the publication: "The Dancing on Ice team is fully concentrating on the much anticipated series finale this coming Sunday and therefore no decision has been made."
