Dancing On Ice contestant Michaela Strachan has topped the judges leaderboard after a “delightful” first performance on the ITV1 show.
A host of new celebrities took to the ice as the new series got under way on Sunday, with Springwatch presenter Strachan, 58, and professional skater Mark Hanretty impressing with a routine to Let’s Do It by Cole Porter, which scored 30.5 points.
Judge Ashley Banjo said: “You might have been nervous, but you approached that with so much adventure and fun and fearlessness that you almost can’t help but enjoy it.
“So guys, well done. You have set the bar. Love it.”
Fellow judge Christopher Dean added: “Well, the standard just went up even more just now. It was delightful. I have to say, it was full of detail and synchronicity together. It was a complete piece.”
Reality TV star Ferne McCann scored 26.5 points and said she felt “really emotional” after she joined Brendyn Hatfield to skate to Lily Allen’s version of Somewhere Only We Know.
Coronation Street star Sam Aston and Molly Lanaghan scored 27 for their routine to That’s Not My Name by The Ting Tings, while former Premier League footballer Anton Ferdinand and Annette Dytrt scored 26 points after skating to Maneskin’s Beggin’.
Anton’s brother, former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand, was in the audience and told presenters Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern he was “absolutely buzzing” after watching his sibling’s “unreal” performance.
Love Island star Chris Taylor and professional skater Vanessa Bauer were awarded 24 points, while soap actress Chelsee Healey and Andy Buchanan ended up at the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 22.
Presenter Willoughby paid tribute to former contestant The Vivienne after this year’s series got under way.
Drag queen James Lee Williams, who won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and came third in the skating competition in 2023, died earlier this month at the age of 32.
Willoughby said: “Before we move on, like us, many of you will have been saddened by the tragic news of The Vivienne’s passing last weekend.
“Now, they were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023. They’ll be very sorely missed, and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”
This year’s contestants also include former EastEnders actress Charlie Brooks, reality star Dan Edgar, The Traitors contestant Mollie Pearce, comedian Josh Jones, and Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave, who will all perform next weekend.
Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, who was partnered with Sylvain Longchambon before withdrawing from the competition in December, appeared on the show to tell hosts Willoughby and Mulhern about her injury.
“We’d been training together about four weeks. We’d had a really good session at the end of that fourth week, and I was just doing something simple for the finish before we stopped”, she said.
“And it wasn’t so simple. I fell over, and my ankle took the brunt of the fall.
Mulhern stepped in as Willoughby’s co-presenter on the reality competition after Phillip Schofield resigned from the broadcaster in 2023.
The celebrities are competing to impress judges Dean and Jayne Torvill, who are retired Olympic ice skaters, former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, and Banjo, founder of dance troupe Diversity.
Soap star Ryan Thomas and his skating partner Amani Fancy won last year’s competition.
Dancing On Ice continues next Sunday at 6.30pm on ITV1.
