Holly Willoughby says she will miss Dancing On Ice ‘hugely’
By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter
Former This Morning host Holly Willoughby has said it was “an absolute privilege” to host Dancing On Ice and added that she will miss the show “hugely”.
The series has been “rested” with “no current plans for another series”, an ITV spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
In an Instagram post, Willoughby, 44, said: “A huge thank you to @itv, The brilliant team, crew, celebrities and everyone who has been part of our Dancing On Ice family over the last 19 years.
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“Every year, just when January felt at its greyest, Dancing on Ice arrived like a burst of glittering, dazzling light, warm, joyful, and full of heart…
“It has been an absolute privilege to work alongside true national treasures Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, and to have a front-row seat to their breathtaking skating.
“Watching them glide across the ice was nothing less than pure magic…
“A special thanks must also go to Arnica, Deep Heat, Spanx and fake tan, unsung heroes of the rink!…
“I will miss it hugely, but I count myself so lucky to have had it for as long as we did. Finally and most importantly, thank you to you for watching, you’re the BEST!”
Willoughby began presenting on the ice skating show in 2006, alongside Phillip Schofield, who resigned from ITV in 2023 after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger male colleague on This Morning.
The 2025 series of Dancing On Ice was hosted by Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern and won by Coronation Street actor Sam Aston and his skating partner Molly Lanaghan.
The show took a break after the ninth series in 2014 before making a comeback in 2018.
After several years of higher ratings, viewer numbers have dropped with the first episode of the 2025 season watched by fewer than three million people on average across ITV and its streaming platform ITVX.
The skating competition drew a peak audience of 3.1 million across ITV and streaming platform ITVX for its opening show this year, compared with four million in 2024, when Mulhern took over from Schofield.
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An ITV spokesperson said: “Following another successful series earlier this year, Dancing On Ice will be rested in 2026 with no current plans for another series.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the cast and crew who have worked on the show since 2006, and over the previous 17 series, for all of their hard work both on and off the ice.”
This year’s judging panel included Olympic champions Torvill and Dean, who have worked on the programme since 2006, with Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse as their most recent co-judges.
Torvill and Dean announced last year, on the 40th anniversary of their Olympic gold, that they would be stepping back from skating after embarking on a final UK tour in 2025.