Dancing on Ice paid tribute to one of their own on Sunday night, when professional skaters remembered late friend and co-star Sean Rice with a poignant routine.
In the hour that led up to the hit ITV show returning for a new series in January, it was announced that Sean, who competed on two series of Dancing on Ice, had passed away.
His death was confirmed online by another former DoI pro Frankie Poultney, who took to Twitter to post: "Pro skaters are heartbroken today, we lost a true larger than life great - an epic skater, a husband, father, and my friend of 20 years.
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"Sean Rice, 20/07/72 - 14/01/22 gone too soon, but we will Love You For A Thousand Years. All of our thoughts are with Signey and Jodeyne."
Dancing on Ice came under fire from viewers at the time for failing to acknowledge Sean's death at all during the first live show of 2022, despite the fact that the sad news of his passing broke hours before cameras started to roll.
But on Sunday, the show did remember him when close friends Alexandra and Lukasz skated a routine to Jessie Ware track Alone, after hosts Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern explained to viewers at home that Sean had died last month, with Holly adding: "He'll be missed by all who knew him."
Reacting to the performance, one fan tweeted: "A beautiful routine and a lovely tribute to Sean Rice. He'd of been really proud of that routine DancingOnIce. Well done @IceLukasz and @AlexandraLukasz."
A second posted: "WOW what a truly emotional and heart warming skate in tribute to Sean Rice. Wiping a teary eye," but others were still disappointed, with another blasting: "Cant believe its taken #DancingonIce about a month to mention about Sean Rice who passed away in January.
" People were tweeting when it was announced saying they were surprised they didn't mention it."
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