HomeTVDancing On Ice 2014 week 1 recap

Dancing On Ice 2014 week 1 recap

Dancing On Ice returned to our screens tonight for its final series featuring an all-star line-up of former contestants.

Torvill & Dean announced during 2013 that they would be doing no more Dancing On Ice following the new series and rather than find a replacement, ITV has decided to bring the show to a close. What better way to go out than with an all-star line-up?

This yearā€™s crop of celebs consists of 6 former champions and a mixture of runner-ups, semi-finalists and fan favourites.

Tonightā€™s show saw the celebrites, minus Todd Carty who was doing Panto, open the show with a group dance featuring their professional partners and Torvill & Dean. Once that was out of the way, it was time to get on with the show. All of the judges from last year ā€“ Ashley Roberts, Jason Gardiner, Karen Barber and Robin Cousins ā€“ returned to offer their critique on this yearā€™s contestants.

To get the ball rolling 7 of the 14 couples would be taking to the ice for the first live show. Christine Bleakley revealed that two couples would be going home during tonightā€™s results show and it would all be down to the public. Talk about starting off tough!

The first to skate tonight was Coronation Street star Hayley Tamaddon and her professional partner Dan Whiston. The two first skated together in 2010 when they won the show. Hayley revealed that she hadnā€™t really skated since and admitted she was nervous. Tonight they skated to Carly Rae Jepsenā€™s Call Me Maybe.

What a way to kick off the competition. Hayley and Dan looked so comfortable on the ice and their routine was the kind of thing youā€™d usually expect in the final weeks.

The judges awarded Hayley and Dan 25.5 out 40.

Robin said Hayley kicked the show off with a bang and never disappoints. He said that some of the transitions were a bit scratchy and told them he would be harsh this series. Ashley told Hayley to watch her arm movements as they got a little sloppy. Karen said Hayley and Dan were tight and polished before saying ā€˜let the games beginā€™. Jason said Hayley and Dan are one of his favourite partnerships of all-time and told them they need to work even harder to really impress him.

The second celebrity to hit the ice tonight was Gareth Gates and his professional partner Brianne Delcourt. Gareth was last on the show in 2008 when he came fourth in the series. In his training video Gareth struggled with his skating as it had been a long time since he took to the ice. Brianne revealed that Gareth was battling confidence so she was trying to encourage him by highlighting the things he did right. Gareth and Brianne skated to Take Thatā€™s Patience.

Well it seemed like Brianne had worked wonders on Garethā€™s confidence as he held it together for the performance and was actually pretty impressive. What did the judges think?

The judges awarded Gareth and Brianne 22.0 out of 40.

Jason gave the lowest score explaining that whilst Gareth brought performance to the skate, he struggled with his posture which brought his mark down. Karen disagreed with Jason and said she was surprised by his performance telling him his tricks were better than his basic skating. Ashley told Gareth to work on his arm extensions. Robin said all the judges were correct but told Gareth to use his knees to improve his posture.

Bonnie Langford came third in the first ever series of Dancing On Ice in 2006. For her return to the ice Bonnie was partnered with Mark Hanretty originally until he injured his shoulder (again) on the ice during training. Bonnie will be partnered through the series by Andrei Lipanov meaning sheā€™s had less training time than the rest of the couples due to having to swap partners. Tonight Bonnie and Andrei skated to Too Darn Hot.

All things considered we think Bonnie and Andrei did a fantastic job. Sheā€™s one of the older contestants in the show but you wouldnā€™t know it from that performance.

The judges awarded Bonnie and Andrei 27.5 out of 40.

Robin said ā€˜energy, energy, energyā€™ and told Bonnie she could really skate. Karen said it was an amazing performance and told viewers Bonnieā€™s performance was a ā€˜masterclass in skatingā€™. Ashley said she was envious of Bonnieā€™s lifts, tricks and skating. Jason told Bonnie she kept herself in ā€˜good nickā€™ and said she was self-assured tonight.

Actor and singer Ray Quinn was the next to take to the ice tonight and his fellow celebs highlighted him as the one to watch this year. Ray won the show in 2009 and this year is dancing with Maria Filippov. During training Ray and Maria were being incredibly with their choreography and were practicing a lift thatā€™s never been done on the show before. Tonight Ray and Maria danced to One Directionā€™s Best Song Ever.

Rayā€™s performance was full of tricks and flashy moves but were we the only ones a little disappointed? We were expecting quite a bit more than we got.

The judges awarded Ray and Maria 29.5 out of 40.

Karen said expectations were high for Ray and called him ā€˜class on iceā€™ but told him he could have done better if heā€™d tightened it up. Jason agreed saying Ray can do a lot better and told him he needs to not be complacent. Ashley said Ray was her favourite so far and told him she enjoyed the performance. Robin said Rayā€™s bravado and confidence needs to be reined in so he can get his technique right.

Actress Jorgie Porter came runner-up in 2012 and was a huge success on the show. During her last appearance on the show Jorgie danced with Matt Evers but this year she was partnered with hunk Sylvain Longchambon. In her training video Jorgie made fun of Sylvainā€™s reputation for dating his partners after he dumped previous girlfriend and skating partner Jennifer Metcalfe for Corrie star Samia Ghadie. Tonight Jorgie and Sylvain skated to Icona Popā€™s I Love It.

We think Jorgie could be one to watch this series and sheā€™s certainly one of the most energetic celebs tonight. Was the chemistry there with Sylvain? The juryā€™s out but weā€™ll see how they progress.

The judges awarded Jorgie and Sylvain 29.0 out of 40.

Jason said he felt the choreography was doing Jorgie rather than the other way round. Robin said he was impressed but told her to watch her hands. Karen said she loved it calling it ā€˜fast and excitingā€™ and told Jorgie she was excited to see how she progressed.

Next onto the ice tonight was Joe Pasquale who gave Keith Chegwin a run for his money last year for the seriesā€™ comedian. This year Joe was partnered with Robin Johnstone after dancing with Vicky Ogden last year. In training there was an accident when Robin was demonstrating a lift and accidentally kicked Joe in her the face with her ice skate blade. Ouch! Tonight Joe and Robin skated to the Mission Impossible theme.

We thought Joe had improved since last year didnā€™t you? He wasnā€™t brilliant but he was better than we expected. Apparently he had a car accident earlier in the week too. Accident prone much?

The judges awarded Joe and Robin 23.5 out of 40.

Jason gave Joe a 7.0 and told him heā€™s improved since last year. Ashley said she loves Joe and was glad to have him back on the show. Karen said the performance was fantastic and told Joe heā€™s great entertainment value. Robin said he didnā€™t expect to see much skating from Joe so he was very surprised.

The last to skate tonight was rugby star Kyran Bracken and his partner Nina Ulanova. Kyran was the winner of the second series of the show back in 2007 and in his intro video he said he wanted to be even better for the new series. He spent a lot of time in watching his competition to understand what he needs to do to win. Tonight Kyran and Nina skated to Stevie Wonderā€™s Sir Duke.

Kyran did great and brought the show to a suitable close.

The judges awarded Kyran and Nina 29.5 out of 40.

Jason said there wasnā€™t anything funky about Kyranā€™s performance apart from his sweaty pits. Karen disagreed with Jason saying the judgeā€™s comments were rude which kicked off the first row of the series. Robin said the skating was strong and told Kyran he needs to get a bit funky.

The leaderboard for the night was:

Kyran Bracken and Nina Ulanova ā€“ 29.5
Ray Quinn and Maria Filippov ā€“ 29.5
Jorgie Porter and Sylvain Longchambon ā€“ 29.0
Bonnie Langford and Andrei Lipanov ā€“ 27.5
Hayley Tamaddon and Dan Whiston ā€“ 25.5
Joe Pasquale and Robin Johnstone ā€“ 23.5
Gareth Gates and Brianne Delcourt ā€“ 22.0

Next week Suzanne Shaw, David Seaman, Todd Carty, Sam Attwater, Beth Tweddle, Zaraah Abrahams and Gary Lucy will all take to the ice during next weekendā€™s live show.

Tune into the Dancing On Ice results tonight at 8.30pm on ITV to find out who will be leaving the competition.

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

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