Amid claims the show could be axed, Dancing On Ice hosts Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern have hinted at the ITV series’ future.
In the closing moments of the live final on Sunday night, which saw Sam Aston win the 2025 trophy, Holly and Stephen thanked viewers for watching the series. As they did, something they said before closing the show may have alluded to the series’ fate.
All the way through the show there were huge hints it was all over after Sunday night, as Holly and others kept getting emotional, including judge Oti Mabuse. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean also kept getting teary, with this put down to their retirement and the fact it was their final ever televised skate on the show.
There were constant mentions of it being the final time, leaving some wondering if they were referring to the series and not just the skating. Amid the tears and moving moments, Stephen also seemed moved especially as the show came to an end.
But then Holly made a comment that could see ITV doing a u-turn amid claims the series will be rested again. They both commented that it was over for now and that they would be back.
Holly said to fans: “That is it for this series,” and soon added: “We’ll see you next time, bye.” This hugely hints the pair and the show will be back and that it’s going nowhere, but perhaps this is down to a decision not yet being confirmed by ITV or at least being made public.
Amid claims the show could be axed, Dancing On Ice hosts Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern have hinted at the ITV series’ future
It comes after channel insiders suggested to The Mirror that the Sunday night series, presented by Holly and Stephen, is likely to be dropped for next year after sinking to its lowest ever ratings – a far cry from its heyday when 12 million tuned in. Last year, the show scored its smallest live audience of all time when 2.9 million tuned in to one episode, a drop of 700,000 on the 3.6 million who’d watched the opener a few weeks earlier. This year, the show could only manage 2.9 million for the launch, and by the fifth episode another half a million viewers had melted away, leaving just 2.4 million.
It means that over the past two years Dancing on Ice has lost more than a million viewers, with the 2023 launch watched by 4.1million but this series never making it above 3million, according to official overnight ratings from BARB.
Channel chiefs believe the only way to justify the huge costs involved in making Dancing on Ice going forward is by attracting a blockbuster audience, which just isn’t happening. One source said: “There are very real fears this is the end of the road for Dancing on Ice. It’s had a good run for nearly 20 years and has a very loyal set of viewers who really love it but the sad truth is there’s just not enough of them. We need bums on seats but the ratings have dropped to a point where it’s difficult to justify the cost.”
Dancing On Ice hosts Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern closed the 2025 series
An ITV spokeswoman told The Mirror: “The Dancing on Ice team is fully concentrating on the much anticipated series finale this coming Sunday and therefore no decision has been made.” She said that when catch-up viewing was included, the series had averaged 3million viewers across the current run, thanks in part to 3.6m streams on ITVX.
Finalist and Coronation Street actor Sam addressed the rumours before the final. “It would be a massive shame but obviously the show has been going on for a long time. There’s nothing else like it,” he said. “If it is the end, what a privilege to have been part of the final series. But I don’t personally see it going anywhere.”
