Morning:
13°c
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
Dancing on Ice judges in backstage bust-up as Olympian Steve Backley is voted off
Last updated at 10:13am on 19.02.08Dancing on Ice judges had to be separated after the panel reportedly squared up to one another when a heated row broke out backstage during last night's show.
The row between judges Karen Barber, Nicky Slater and Jason Gardiner erupted after Slater gave former Hear'Say singer Suzanne Shaw a low score for her ice dance routine.
Scroll down for more...
Skating off: The dream is over for Steve Backley and partner Susie Lipanova who were voted off during the skate-off between the Olympian and Coronation Street actor Zaraah Abrahams
Steve and Susie did their best to shine in the skate-off but it wasn't good enough as the judges chose to save Coronation Street's Zaraah
A ITV source revealed:"Four of them gave Suzanne really high marks, but Nicky gave four (out of six).
"They were talking quite heatedly and when it cut to a commercial break, it all kicked off.
"Karen was shouting at Nicky, Nicky was shouting, Jason got involved."
Scroll down for more...
Slater said 'there was very little skating' in Shaw's routine, and the argument was so heated that production staff had to separate the judges after they traded insults
Singer Suzanne Shaw and partner Matt Evers were at the centre of controversy after a row erupted between judges when judge Nicky Slater gave her a low score following her performance last night
Suzanne, 26 and Matt Evers won 23.5 points for a routine to Dionne Warwick's Walk on By with judge Barber calling it "the best routine of the evening" awarding them 5.5.
Actress Shaw had been suffering from a stomach bug and missed rehearsals.
But ex-British Ice Dance champion Nicky gave the routine just four marks and said: "There is very little skating on the ice."
Scroll down for more...
Chris Fountain and Frankie Poultney put on a good performance despite the latter suffering a nasty fall this week
Frankie recovered to perform well in the live show despite her nasty accident during the week when Chris dropped her on her head
According to the Sun, Production staff were forced to step in to stop the row, during which the judges could be overheard trading insults by the shocked audience, and put them into separate rooms.
The row came as Olympian Steve Backley became the latest celebrity to be voted off the show.
The javelin star, who took part in the series despite having a prosthetic hip, lost out to actress Zaraah Abrahams in a final "skate-off" between the bottom two contestants.
Scroll down for more...
Up close and personal: Linda Lusardi and partner Dan Whiston got cosy on the ice
He said: "I'm disappointed to go and there is no getting away from that. I am gutted. Having the prosthetic hip is a big deal, my stumbling block is getting over that but I am delighted to have got this far."
Although Backley lost out, the judges reserved their worst tongue-lashing for tennis player Greg Rusedski.
Jason Gardiner told him: "Greg, you have the charisma of cardboard. There is no oomph in your performance. It starts at one level and doesn't move. You are dull as dishwater."
Scroll down for more...
Fashion faux-pas: Gareth Gates with Maria Filippov in multi-coloured costumes
The injury list continued, as Chris Fountain's partner Frankie was suffering from whiplash after he accidentally dropped her on her head during practice on Friday.
But the pair managed to perform their routine, and scored 24.5.
Chris said: "This routine all week has not been sticking in my head. On Friday I nearly cracked her skull open and it's given me such a knock."
Scroll down for more...
Zaraah Abrahams and Fred Palascak managed to beat Olympian Steve in the dance-off
Greg Rusedski and Kristina Lenko impress the judges in matching purple costumes
The show had a Sixties theme and for the first time all the celebrities took to the ice together.
They had to invent their own new move as part of the show, and Jayne Torvill said she had never seen Shaw's "The Walkover" performed on the ice before.
Related articles
Reader views (3)
I would like to congratulate on all the contestants on a great performance on the show last night 22/2/09 it was a tough decision on who was going to go so well done and a shame melinda had to go
- patricia graham, Middlesbrough Teesside
Watching D O I last night I didn't have a clue who the competitors were because the screaming from the audience was blotting out the announcer's voice. At one stage I had to turn the sound off because the screaming was going right through my head. Further - In the two hours of the program, apart from the opening sequence, there was fifteen minutes of actual skating. I thonk I have found a cure for insomnia.
- Sidney Stainer, Birchimgton UK
dancing on ice is da best by far
should av won at the nta's this year not strictly
- Jaydee Lee, england
