DANCING on Ice bosses have made a huge change to this weekend’s show to ramp up the pressure on the celebrities.
For the first time in the show’s history, the two lowest ranked skaters will not face the skate off.
Instead all remaining couples, including Ekin-Su Culculoglu, Joey Essex and Michelle Heaton, will be scored by the judges.
Those scores will then be combined with the public’s votes and the lowest ranked couple will leave.
It means the Dancing on Ice celebrities cannot rely on being saved by the judges if they find themselves bottom of the leaderboard.
A show source said: “You might think there being no dreaded skate off would be a good thing, but actually it means the celebs have no safety net – there’ll be no saving of favourites, or forgiving a misstep.
“The celeb will be judged entirely on how they skate and how the audience reacts to that skate.
“The stakes are higher than ever.”
It’s the latest twist in an already dramatic series.
Just days into training Joey Essex caused a scramble by panicked medics when he cut his finger down to the bare bone in a skating accident.
Later, head judge Christopher Dean broke his thumb stumbling over a suitcase.
The Wanted star Siva Kaneswaran suffered concussion for over a week when he fell backwards on the ice.
And the first episode was shrouded in drama after Ekin-Su’s see-through catsuit prompted 112 complaints to Ofcom.
Fans noted the catsuit was “too sexy” to be worn before the watershed.
One viewer wrote online: “Totally inappropriate outfit. It’s a family show.”
Someone else said: “That’s a post-watershed outfit.”
And a third added: “I’m no prude but I was panicking we were going to see what she had for breakfast there with that outfit.”
Her fans were quick to rush to Ekin’s defence, with one adding: “What did you want her to wear? A Sunday dress?”
The one-piece was intended to be a copy of that worn by Britney Spears in the music video for Toxic – the song that Ekin-Su danced to.
