Dancing on Ice bosses have warned stars if they test positive for Covid they’re out of the show
ON rival show Strictly Come Dancing, it was one strike and you’re out as far as Covid was concerned.
Luckily for Rufus Hound, rules on ITV’s Dancing On Ice have been more laidback. Until now.
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I’m told that producers have informed all celebs and the professional skaters that if they test positive for coronavirus, they will immediately be eliminated from the show.
An insider said: “Any of the celebrities or their partners going down with Covid now would mean two weeks out of the competition and training.
“It would leave them dangerously under-trained and it’s too risky to then have them skate.”
It would also mean they would need two byes from the public vote, and my source confirmed this was a factor, saying: “There’s the integrity of the public vote, which is the most important thing on the show.”
The rule change has raised eyebrows among some skaters, as Rufus was given a one-week bye after his debut performance as he had been notified to isolate by the Track and Trace app.
He announced on Saturday that he had subsequently tested positive for Covid but that he was “coming to the end” of it and it was a “very mild case”.
Rufus is expected to return to Dancing On Ice this weekend.
Reality star Billie Shepherd was also allowed to miss last weekend’s show after the death of her grandmother.
And last year Libby Clegg was given a bye due to illness, but bosses say she would have been given the boot if she’d needed more than a week off.
An ITV spokeswoman said: “A Covid-19 diagnosis for our cast at this stage would mean two weeks missed and, sadly, an end to their time on the show.
“It has always been the case that no celeb skater misses more than one public vote.”
Kelly stripe tease
LORRAINE Kelly may look like she’s giving herself a bit of a grope, but she was actually gesturing towards her blouse and pointing out it had a sex-free design.
That’s because the presenter and Sun columnist had previously worn a zebra top with two of the animals appearing to be mounting one another – sending viewers into fits.
But on yesterday’s show she said she’d given her latest outfit the once over to ensure it didn’t feature any similarly saucy images.
Just as well, or ITV would have to air Lorraine after the watershed.
Line of Duty comeback
THE BBC has revealed the long-awaited new series of Line of Duty will last seven episodes, rather than the usual six.
The cop drama is set to return this spring and the exciting news came via a cheeky video posted online featuring lead male actors Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar.
Norton's act for theatre
WE have all told our parents a fib or two over the years but Graham Norton might have most reason to regret it.
The Virgin Radio host has revealed he had unnecessary surgery as a kid to whip out his appendix after feigning stomach pains to skip school.
In Mel Giedroyc’s new show Unforgivable on Dave, Graham said: “When I was seven or eight, I didn’t want to go to school so I started saying ‘Ow, I’ve got tummy ache’. So my mother said, ‘Fine, don’t go to school and we will go to the doctor’.
“The doctor’s examining me and I’m going, ‘Ow!’ I thought he was going to tell my mother there was nothing wrong with me and I was in such trouble.
“But he told me I had something called appendicitis and next week I’d be going to hospital to have my appendix out.
“I then thought I was really f****d because either I have an operation I don’t need or I tell the doctor there’s nothing wrong with me and there will be two very angry adults.
“So I had the operation!”
Record-breaking Sin
RUSSELL T Davies’ drama It’s A Sin has proved to be a record-breaking hit for Channel 4.
All 4 saw its viewers double thanks to the five-parter being available in full as a box set, which has now had 6.5million views.
That makes it All 4’s biggest drama launch and its most binged series.
Bayern's Amazon season
AMAZON’s fly-on-the-wall documentaries on football giants Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have made for unmissable viewing.
And they don’t come much bigger than the next team to get the treatment: Germany’s Bayern Munich.
The series will launch on Prime Video in the autumn and includes the 2020 Champions League final win against Paris Saint-Germain.
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Club chief exec Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “Especially now, when corona is, unfortunately, forcing us to distance ourselves, this documentary is a wonderful opportunity for our fans to experience first-hand what is going on in our club.”
I can’t wait. It will be epic.
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