Dancing On Ice fans launched into a furious “fix row” after Towie (The Only Way is Essex) star Dan Edgar was eliminated from the competition on Sunday night.
The 34-year-old and his professional partner Vanessa James missed out on a place in next week’s final after landing in the skate-off against Anton Ferdinand.
Despite Anton reportedly stumbling during his routine, all four judges voted to save the ex-footballer, sparking outrage among viewers.
Judges Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Oti Mabuse and Jordan Banjo unanimously chose to save Anton over Dan in the tense skate-off.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Prue Leith forced to turn down Strictly and Dancing on Ice offers amid family health concernsITV Dancing on Ice fans embroiled in ‘fix’ row as Mollie Pearce narrowly misses semi-finalMichaela Strachan suffers ITV Dancing on Ice blow despite being favourite to win competition
Fans were quick to point out that Anton had “messed up” during his performance.
One viewer wrote on social media: “Ohhh Anton messed up there.”
Another fumed: “Wooden Anton nearly falls over again after lurching around the rink like a wobbly toddler and still gets through?”
The accusations of unfairness intensified on social media, with viewers directly calling out the result as rigged.
“How can that happen with a stumble? Total fix,” one angry fan posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Another suggested there might be behind-the-scenes issues: “Methinks Dan’s upset somebody high up.”
The controversy came just hours after reports emerged that the ITV skating show could face the axe due to record low ratings.
Viewers also took aim at the judges’ scoring, particularly criticising Oti Mabuse for awarding Dan a perfect 10.
“How the hell could @OtiMabuse Give him a 10???? Clear bias. Sacked,” one viewer tweeted.
Another questioned: “What planet is Oti on? That was never a ten.”
The generous scoring across the board left many fans bewildered, with one commenting: “The scoring is mad, the standard of skating isn’t as good as it used to be is it?” (sic)
The show has lost over a million viewers in the past two years, with the 2023 launch attracting 4.1 million but no episode this series exceeding 3 million.
By the fifth episode of the current series, viewing figures had dropped to just 2.4 million.
A source told The Mirror: “We need bums on seats but the ratings have dropped to a point where it’s difficult to justify the cost.”
The high production costs include six-figure fees for celebrity contestants.
