By Nadia Mendoza


Triumphant: Matthew Wolfenden takes over as Dancing on Ice champion from last year's winner Sam Attwater

Matthew Wolfenden has taken the baton from Sam Attwater to be crowned king of the rink.

The Emmerdale star won Dancing On Ice tonight, pipping rival Jorgie Porter to the title.

It was neck and neck as the two finalists performed their breathtaking Boleros - with head judge Robin Cousins saying Matthew's was the 'most difficult' since the programme began in 2006.

King of the rink: Matthew Wolfenden beat Jorgie Porter to win Dancing On Ice 2012

Having both scored perfect maximum 30s for previous performances, the competition was tight.

As it was announced, a very shocked Matthew said: 'It's going to take a few days to sink in. The first time I stood on the ice, I thought I'd made the biggest mistake of my life and I'd be a laughing stock.'

Jorgie could barely speak as she choked on tears, but managed to say: 'I'm so happy for them.'

Following their incredible final performance, Robin said: 'That is the most difficult Bolero we have had since the start of the show.'


Moment of truth: The atmosphere was incredibly tense before Phillip Schofield announced the winner

Fireworks: The studio was full of pyrotechnics after Matthew won

Katarina Witt heaped praise on him, saying: 'From the beginning it was mesmerizing, it was gentle, it was sexy.

'I can't imagine what kind of world class skater you would've become if you had started as a little boy.'

The opening of the show was like waiting an hour for a bus - and three come along at once - as Matthew finally received a perfect score of 10 from the trio of judges to score the maximum of 30.


'World class': Judge Katarina Witt said Matthew would be 'world class' had he trained from being a boy

Strong: Mathew is now a pro at lifting partner Nina in various over-head moves

Along with partner Nina Ulanova, the duo performed an ensemble piece to Singin' In The Rain.

Recreating the iconic Gene Kelly performance - complete with bowler hat, umbrella and a lamppost - the routine was thrilling as they were joined by an ensemble cast of the professional male skaters.

Judge Louie Spence claimed Matthew's skills 'surpassed' those of the West End cast.

Having seen the production twice at the Palace Theatre in London this week, he said: 'I'm telling you, what you have just done on the ice, surpassed what I have seen on feet.'


Gutted: After all her hard work, Jorgie ended in second place


Pipped to the post: Jorgie Porter was the runner-up despite an incredible routine with Matt Evers

Captivating: Both couples had to start their routine on their knees and finish lying down on the ice

Robin added: 'I've been waiting for a few weeks to reward you that 10. You just led a fully professional ensemble piece as the leading man.'

Matthew was clearly overwhelmed, saying: 'I can't believe it, I'm lost for words,' before Christopher Dean revealed he and Jayne (Torvill) had 'goosebumps'.

But snapping at his tail was little pixie Jorgie, who earned herself 29.

Saying goodbye for another year: Mentors Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill posed with the winning duo and presenters Christine Bleakley and Phillip Schofield

Looking every inch the pop princess in a fiery red leotard, she put on a magical showcase to the iconic theme tune of Fame with partner Matt Evers.

Rewarding another 10, Louie said: 'You are hot! You burnt the floor out there, the ice was melting. The lifts were phenomenally difficult and you were just throwing them out. It was absolutely superb.'

She was marked down to 9.5 by both Robin and Katarina for her lack of solo skating.

Tense: The final three can't hide their nerves as it's revealed who will skate the Bolero

While crediting the performance, Katarina added: 'I missed a little bit of skating, but the lifts were difficult and perfectly done.'

However, the Hollyoaks actress didn't seem too fazed, saying: 'I got a 10! I'm going to watch this back and not believe it's me.'

Sadly there was very nearly disaster for Chico and Jodeyne Higgins, which undoubtedly cost them their place in the final.


Top marks: Jorgie and Matt Evers scored a maximum 30 for their routine to Fallin' by Alicia Keys

Graceful: Jorgie's poise was reminiscent of a ballerina

During their routine to Happy Days, a lift didn't quite have the perfect execution it should have, meaning Jodeyne fell to the ice.

However, the pair continued and received a respectable 26.

Louie said: 'I've championed you from the start. You never fail to go out there and give 100 per cent. I know how much this means to you, so I hope you give your next performance 150 per cent.'


Tricksters: Chico and Jorgie both had their turn to shine in their second performance, scoring a perfect 30

Leather-clad: Matthew earned himself 28.5 with his rendition of Queen's Don't Stop Me Now

Robin added: 'You really did get back into it, you didn't lose momentum,' while Katarina said: 'As athletes ourselves, something like this always break our hearts.

'Even with mistakes, we shouldn't criticise, it was still fun and cool.'

Ever the optimist, Chico chirped: 'It's a real shame as I slipped, but the heart of a champion is one that gets down, gets up and carries on.'


Impeccable pecs: Chico stripped off to perform topless and in zebra leggings

Over the moon: Chico couldn't hide his excitement at scoring a perfect 30

The stars then got to repeat their favourite performance from the series, with Matthew slipping into his leathers once again for Queen's iconic hit Don't Stop Me Now.

First time round he had scored 26 in week six, improving this time to receive 28.5.

Yet he was soon triumphed by the incredible Jorgie, whose turn it was to score a perfect 30.


Remember her name: Jorgie showcased her svelte figure during her ensemble routine to Fame


Don't drop her! Jorgie got thrown around during her daredevil routine

Hurling her into the air: Jorgie has mastered the art of gymnastics as well as skating

After swanning across the ice to Fallin' by Alicia Keys, in which she also scored 26 in week six, she said: 'I feel hysterical... I thought it might be the last dance I ever did with Matt, so I really tried.'

Parading his impeccable pecs, topless Chico stripped off for LMFAO's I'm Sexy And I Know It - and also scored a perfect 30.

Having received 25 in week 9, Chico said: 'It proved I could've gone backstage and crumbled... I might be the underdog but tonight I feel like I'm under God.'

Welcome back: Everyone from Jennifer Ellison to Corey Feldman returned

Of course, former stars were welcomed back before the final two were revealed, seeing the return of Andy Akinwolere, Andy Whyment, Charlene Tilton, Chemmy Alcott, Corey Feldman, Heidi Range, Jennifer Ellison, Laila Morse, Mark Rhodes, Rosemary Conley, Sam Nixon and Sébastien Foucan.

It was then revealed Chico would not be dancing the Bolero, before Matthew went on to win the show.

As he waved goodbye, the former X Factor contestant gushed about his time on the series, saying: 'This lady (Jodeyne) is the best. My wife and child are over there, so she's the second best lady.'


Disaster: Chico nearly dropped Jodeyne as they danced to Happy Days





source:dailymail

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Tags: Dancing On Ice 2012, Entertainment, TV Show

By Marcus Barnes


Jennifer Ellison was sent packing in tonight's Dancing On Ice semi-final after failing to impress the judges.

Her departure will be good news to her husband Robbie Tickle who she's promised will 'reap the benefits' of her svelte new figure when she leaves the show.

The actress, 28, had improved immensely on her early performances but still lacked that extra level of skill that would have taken her to the final.

Emotional: The former Brookside star fought back tears after the performance

She left in tears, upset that she couldn't carry on with the show which she said had taught her to believe in herself.

Three celebrities remained in the semi-final after Matthew Wolfenden earlier went straight through to the final when he topped the leader board.

And it was left down to the public vote as to who would face each other in the dance off.

Chico and Jodeyne made it through, and he dropped to his knees when the news was announced.

He had been the show's underdog for much of the series, but finally proved his worth with two great performances on tonight's show.

And so Jennifer and Jorgie had to repeat their dances in the final dance off.

High energy: Jennifer Ellison enjoyed her routine with Daniel Whiston

That meant another Reverse Neck Spin for Jen and another high-risk Headbanger for Jorgie.

The dance was probably better than her first effort and she fought back tears again afterwards, this time however they were tears of joy as everyone agreed it was best dance to date.

Jorgie also managed to pull of her dance a lot better than she had done first time around, even her Headbanger looked better.

Then they faced the judging panel.

Elegant: Jorgie Porter with her dancing partner Matt Evers

Louie saved Jorgie, Robin also saved Jorgie as did Katarina - although all three agreed Jennifer had performed her best dance so far.

Matt Wolfenden had earlier made his way straight into the final with a near-perfect performance in both his routine with Nina Ulanova and his solo dance.

In fact there was just one blip in proceedings when his Headbanger maneuver went awry.

He ended up with 56 points, which put him just half a point ahead of Chico, but meant he was immune from the public vote.

So slick: Matthew Wolfenden was the consumate professional during his dance and topped the leader board

Matthew and partner Nina Ulanova were the last up on the show.

The couple danced to The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson and featured a few little nods to the late King Of Pop.

They included the dreaded Headbanger in their dance.

It began with the duo flirting with one another, Matt attempting to grab Nina's attention before they launched into the routine.

Oops! Nina struggles to get up from the Headbanger which almost ended in disaster

Matt kept his hips flexing like Michael Jackson throughout, they pull the Angel Of The North lift among others along with a baseball slide and a walkover doughnut.

The Headbanger at the end wasn't quite perfect but it looked good and they avoided disaster.

Katarina awarded the twosome 9.5 while the other two judges gave them 9, giving them 27.5 altogether.

Later on he needed a near-perfect score in the Ultimate Skills Test to top the leader board after Chico had earlier picked up 55.5 points with his two dances.

Lifting spirits: Matt carries Nina during their dance which impressed the judges

And his almost professional dance looked great and he finished to a rousing applause from the studio audience.

All the judges give him 9.5, he topped the leader board with 56 points and won immunity from the public vote.

He said: 'I was terrifying, but what a pleasure to do it.'

Perhaps it was a power nap before the show that helped spur him on.

Celebration: Matt is full of glee as the judges award him big points

The Emmerdale star told his Twitter followers earlier tonight: 'A quick nap before show time! Hope your all gonna tune in later!!! M'

He tweeted an hour later, saying: 'I’m awake now! Thanks so much for all the tweets. Tweet ya later. M x'

First up on tonight's show was the showman Chico, 40, who was no doubt buoyed by last week's high score of 27.

He and his partner Jodeyne Higgins have been given The Flood by Take That as their song.

Christopher Dean says it's powerful and emotive and that he hopes it will subdue Chico's personality which sometimes overrides his performances.

You raise me up: Chico pulls off one of many lifts during his high-scoring routine

Ahead of his time on the ice, Chico said: 'I need to dig deep and present a differet facade.'

The routine finishes with a dangerous banana lift and spin where they're blades are next to each others' faces.

Their smooth, emotional dance involves lots of great transitions including an impressive Monster Lift.

They pull off the banana lift perfectly and end with big smiles on their faces and get 9.5 from each judge, totaling 28.5 leaving him almost speechless.

Show of strength: The former X Factor star lifts partner Jodeyne above his head

'That was by far my favourite routine so far.' he said, before he wished his wife a happy Mother's Day.

Robin Cousins told Chico: 'I said you needed to stop being so generous to the other contestants, to be selfish and contain it and you did. That was brilliant skating, you were controlled and protective of Jodeyne.'

Katarina Witt, added: 'You are non skater, out there and in control. You tell her where to go, it's so strong. I'm amazed, you have no idea how good you are.'

Louie had lots to say about the performance, the highlight of which was: 'For a non-skater, celebrity to do what you're doing is outstanding.'

Muscle man: Chico shows off his winning form

Former Brookside actress Jennifer Ellison followed Chico's highly-rated routine.

Her dance, with partner Daniel Whiston included plenty of lifts including the Arabeqsue Lift and the frightening Reverse Neck Spin.

The couple danced to I Wanna Dance With Somebody by the late Whitney Houston.

The upbeat song had the audience clapping from the off, Jennifer appeared a little unsteady at times, but they worked they way through the routine with plenty of energy.

Emotional: The couple danced to The Flood by Take That which seemed to bring out the best in Chico

Just before the Reverse Neck Spin Jennifer stumbled a little, but they pull it off brilliantly and looked great.

Jennifer fought back tears as the judges gave the duo eight points each resulting in a total of 24.

Katarina told her: 'We always enjoy your performance, you have great chemistry with Daniel. But I didn't see enough improvement, there were great lifts but you did a stumble at the end. In general I wish I would have seen you how you've been improving over the last few weeks.

Louie added: 'You've come so far. After the kick in the head you began to shine. I think Chico's performance has put everyone on edge though. Unfortunately the standards are so high, that the stumble let you down.

Pain in the neck: The actress pulled off the Reverse Neck Spin but stumbled just before she did it which resulted in less points

Robin agreed, but also said: 'You are a brilliant and wonderful performer and we love watching you.'

Jorgie and Matt followed Jennifer and Dan, and they were hoping to step up after their low score last week.

The Headbanger move in their routine has proved to be almost impossible for the Hollyoaks star during rehearsals.

Jorgie and Daniel danced to Shake It Out by Florence & The Machine and their routine was punctuated by lots of small steps, lunges and smooth transitions.

And that's that! Jennifer and Dan end their routine which received the lowest score of the evening

Their dance didn't quite match up to the drama of Florence's song although they interspersed it with some great lunges and a back spiral side by side.

She managed to step in and step out of the Floating Headbanger, becoming the first contestant ever to do so on the show.

Louie gave the duo 9.5 and they got 9 points each from the other judges.

An excited Louie told Jorgie: 'You are so back! What I like about you is that you utilise every piece of the music. Babes you're back, you could go all the way.'

High risk: The duo pulled off the Headbanger move
Katarina added: 'In the afternoon I was worried about the program, it was so full of difficulties. But landing on one foot... what more can you ask for?'

And Robin agreed telling the couple: 'You stuck with a difficult routine and made it happen.'

Speaking about the score she gave the couple, Katarina says: 'I would have given you 10 if it wasn't for the mistake at the end. If somebody walks in and sees you for the first time, no one would know who was the professional out of you two. For me it was almost, almost perfect.'

Angelic: Hollyoaks star Jorgie pulled some elegant moves during her dance

Robin told them: 'You work well together. Only thing you need to watch is your cross behinds and cross overs, make sure they do cross behind and cross over, make sure detail stays in feet as well as in your dancing relationship.'

While Louie enthused: 'Fabulous performance. You really do dance on the ice, it's like you're not on skates. The mistake shows you how difficult the lifts are, but you recovered quickly and it was still a great performance.'

As if their complicated routines weren't enough the celebrities then had to pass the Ultimate Skills Test which is a minute-long solo performance with 23 separate skills, each of which they need to perform in order to get top marks.

Good, but not good enough: Jennifer Ellison at the end of her solo dance

Chico is first and seems to pull it off with relative ease.

He gets 9 from each of the judges, 27 in total and 55.5 overall.

Without a hint of irony the former X Factor star told hosts Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley: 'I'm not normally lost for words, but I am today.'

Nervous Jennifer followed, after her emotional dance earlier, she still appeared worried as she started her dance.

Sparkling: Jorgie beams at the end of her Ultimate Skills Test

She set to it, and seemed relatively comfortable but stumbled during the double spin which she also had a few jitters with.

Louie gave her 7.5 while the others awarded her 8 each giving her a grand total of 47.5.

Afterwards, she said: 'One thing this show has taught me is to believe in myself, if I come back next week I will come back fighting.'

Jorgie Porter followed with an almost perfect solo performance, particularly her spin.

She geot 9 from each of the judges and said: 'I'm just so happy with all, I've had a really good week this week. Whatever happens, happens.'




source:dailymail

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Tags: Celebrities, Dancing On Ice 2012, TV Show

By Nadia Mendoza


Back to a size six: Heidi Range showed off her newly-svelte figure in a skintight gold catsuit for Dancing On Ice's movie night last night


She had said previously that one of the main reasons she had decided to take part in Dancing On Ice was to lose weight.

And now Sugababes singer Heidi Range has expressed her delight after the ITV talent show helped her slim back down to a size six.

Heidi spoke about her weight loss as she showed off her newly-svelte figure in a skintight gold catsuit as she paid tribute to James Bond movie Goldfinger on yesterday's Movie Night show.

Slimming down: The 28-year-old singer has lost a stone since she began on Dancing On Ice last year

The 28-year-old singer, who has shed a stone since starting on Dancing On Ice, said: 'The weight loss has been brilliant. I was just over eight-and-a-half stone before I started. I've always had to work really hard on my figure. I guess I've been stressed over the past few months too - lots of things have added to the weight loss.

'But I'm thinking the world is my oyster right now. The show has been brilliant - it has given me my confidence back.'

And Heidi's confidence was certainly clear to see as she took to the ice with partner Andrei Lipanov to the soundtrack of Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger.

Secretary chic: Jorgie Porter performed to Dolly Parton hit 9 to 5, tying with Matthew Wolfenden to get 21.5

However, Heidi wasn't the only star to impress the judges with both her skating skills and her costume last night.

Hollyoaks starlet Jorgie Porter was dressed in a quirky secretary outfit, showing off her slender figure in a blue mini skirt and short-sleeve polka dot skirt.

Despite struggling with a certain lift in rehearsal, where Matt thrusts Jorgie into the air and perches her bottom on the palm of his hand, the couple nailed their number.

Referring to the correct execution of the lift, Jorgie said: 'I think I was saved by my knickers.'


Skating success: Jorgie appears to have formed a bond with partner Matt Evers

Shock! Jorgie put her head in her hands when the scores came through from the judges

At the beginning of the act, her hair was tied up in a bun before she unpinned it and shook it loose.

Speaking of his partner, Matt said: 'I have to thank Jayne and Chris for giving me my ultimate fantasy and skating with a secretary.'

Louie Spence praised the pair, saying: 'It was fast, fun and fabulous! It was jam-packed with choreography. It was so complete, I don't know where we're going to go with you?'


Joint first: Matthew Wolfenden and Nina Ulanova scored the same as Jorgie and Matt with Night Fever

Natural strength: Matthew lifted partner Nina with grace - unlike in rehearsals where they struggled

And her performance to the Dolly Parton classic 9 to 5 earned Jorgie, 21, an impressive 21.5 out of 30, making her level pegging with Emmerdale actor Matthew Wolfenden on the scoreboard.

For their debut performance in previous weeks, Matthew actually beat Jorgie by two points after receiving 20.5 - but they weren't in direct competition as they performed in separate episodes.

This means war: Matthew gave a thumbs up after learning he earned the same as Jorgie

Fellow panellist Katarina Witt, who gave them their top solo judge score of 7.5, added: 'The time flies by watching you perform. You have the whole package!'

Meanwhile, Matthew was hot on her tail with his disco dancing to Night Fever.

The former Soapstar Superstar contestant, who skated with Nina Ulanova, perhaps had an unfair advantage after having toured in a theatre production of Saturday Night Fever for a year.


Conservative: It wasn't long before the glasses were thrown off and the hair was tumbling everywhere

Practice makes perfect: Jorgie fell several times in rehearsal before nailing the move

The couple had also been struggling with a particular lift, in which Matthew flips Nina upside down.

He said: 'I was very nervous, but it (the lift) was right at the beginning, so we got it out the way.'

Robin Cousins, who awarded them an 8, said: 'If you cut the camera view off above the knee, you couldn't tell which feet belonged to the celebrity and which to the professional.'

Getting into character: Nina had never seen Saturday Night Fever, so Matthew took her to a Seventies night

Meanwhile, Katarina went a little red saying he looked sexy, but Louie said it lacked spark.

Despite Corey Feldman landing at the bottom of the scoreboard with 8, it was Mark Rhodes who was voted off the show after ending up in the skate-off with Charlene Tilton.


Comfort over style: Jennifer was seen leaving the Dancing On Ice studios last night wearing a fluffy dressing gown and UGG boots





source:dailymail

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Tags: Celebrities, Dancing On Ice 2012, Entertainment