FROSTY REUNION
Jason Gardiner and Karen Barber to reunite on Dancing On Ice seven years after their heated on-air row
The series is preparing to launch in January, with Gemma Collins and Wes Nelson already being signed up as contestants by bosses
IT will be hand-warmers at dawn on Dancing On Ice as arch-enemies Jason Gardiner and Karen Barber are being reunited on the judging panel.
I can reveal former Olympic skater Karen has landed the role of head coach on the upcoming ITV series — seven years after an on-air row with Jason prompted 3,000 complaints to Ofcom.
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Jason told Karen, who had just been shifted from a role as a judge to one as a coach: “If your opinion mattered you’d still be on the judging panel.”
Then as shaken host Holly Willoughby looked on Karen jabbed her finger at the judge and said tearfully: “Jason you really are offensive, you bring so little to this panel.”
Jason has been a judge on all but one series of the hit, while Karen coached for two series and has not judged since 2014. A source said: “There is no love lost between the two of them, and there’s bound to be fireworks. In the past he’s reduced her to tears.”
Karen, who dates fellow judge Christopher Dean, said last night: “It’s a joy to return.
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Despite his snide remarks Jason has insisted he is no bully. He said: “As someone severely bullied in my childhood, I know what bullying is like. So to actually discount what the real term bullying is and apply it to what I’m doing on a show, I think really is a disservice to young people now who are experiencing bullying.”
The new series is likely to start in January and bosses have already started signing contestants including Love Island’s Wes Nelson and Towie’s Gemma Collins.
Things are about to get chilly.
Fiona is on case
BBC stalwart Fiona Bruce is paid £400,000 a year by licence fee payers – but that hasn’t stopped her doing a bit of evening work at ITV.
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The newsreader is fronting a documentary for the channel about Emile Cilliers, who tried to murder his wife by sabotaging her parachute. Victoria Cilliers sustained horrific injuries after crashing to the ground when the chute failed to open on a jump in Wiltshire in 2015.
Former crime reporter Fiona has access to hours of previously unseen police tapes and will speak to people involved in the story.
The film, to be broadcast next month, is Fiona’s second docu for ITV’s Crime And Punishment series. She fronted a show in March about the stabbing of Rachel Nickell in London in 1992.
Fiona is one of the Beeb’s best-known reporters, so it’s not surprising that ITV are tapping her up.
Love is in the air
THIS year’s Love Island stars downed the last of the summer wine as they turned out for a mini-reunion at the Best Heroes Awards on Monday night.
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Braving the chilly night Laura Anderon, Ellie Brown and Zara McDermott donned their bright garments for the magazine ceremony alongside fellow castmate Eyal Booker with Laura.
And no one was more pleased to see ex-trolley dolly Laura than ceremony host and talkRADIO presenter Eamonn Holmes.
Referring to his wife Ruth Langsford he told the audience: “The bad news is Ruth couldn’t make it tonight . . . The good news is Laura from Love Island is here.”
Steady now, Eamonn.
Netflix and kill... again
THE sequel to Netflix’s Making A Murderer will start next month, nearly three years after the hit docu-series first aired.
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The ten episodes will return to central character Steven Avery, who in 2007 was jailed along with his nephew for killing photographer Teresa Halbach in Wisconsin, US.
But the focus will switch to his post-conviction lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, as she strives to prove he was wrongly found guilty.
Airing on October 19, season two could spark a new wave of interest in true crime stories.
Shows such as Evil Genius, The Keepers and The Confession Tapes all aired on Netflix after Making A Murderer’s first series in 2015.
All pets are off
CHANNEL 4 has showcased the nation’s embarrassing ailments – now it is the turn of our furry friends to go under the microscope.
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I’m told the broadcaster is set to air a new show called Embarrassing Pets, a daytime series where owners take their animals to vets and behaviour experts.
It will feature pungent pugs, diva ducks, angry alpacas and petulant parrots, together with their long-suffering families.
Leon Towers and Caroline Clark are the series’ animal behaviourists, while vets Deepti Sharma and Gavin McDonagh will operate out of their Cheshire practice. If
it’s anything like Doctor Dolittle, I’ll be tuning in.
soapbox
KARL turns down Jemima’s offer in Neighbours, while Gary reluctantly accepts an invitation from Rob to join him and Amy for lunch.
MOST READ IN BIZARRE
Elsewhere, Leo and Terese are almost caught in the act by Piper.
In Coronation Street Tracy tells Steve he has a pass before the wedding – but while she means a day pass to a spa, Steve thinks his bride-to-be is giving him permission to sleep with another woman.
Meanwhile, Josh shows up on a horrified Billy’s doorstep, explaining that he has been discharged from hospital and has nowhere else to go.
In Emmerdale, Charity visits her dad Obadiah – but she might regret letting him back into her life.
must watch
WHAT? Grand Designs, 9pm, Channel 4.
WHY? Kevin McLoud meets a couple who have moved from London to Cornwall with their three young kids to build an ambitious house with a budget of £400,000.
Dancing on Ice signs up Kerry Katona's ex Brian McFadden alongside Towie's Gemma Collins, Love Island's Wes Nelson and Richard Black