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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte Tutton

John Fashanu first axed from Dancing on Ice 2023 after losing skate-off to Ekin-Su

Dancing On Ice 2023 's John Fashanu became the first star on the line-up to be eliminated from the ITV series on Sunday night.

The football star lost the dreaded skate-off against Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu on Sunday, with the judges sending them home.

As both celebrities and their professional skating partners, Brendyn Hatfield and Alexandra Schauman, performed one more time for the panel, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse all had to choose who to save and who to eliminate.

As the result came in, hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby bid farewell to the first casualty of the rink ahead of week three.

John had joked seconds earlier that he knew he hadn't done enough to stay on the show, while Ekin-Su was visibly relieved to make it through after a tough first week.

She had vowed to prove herself in the skate-off, working hard after being left "upset" over the public vote the week before.

It follows the show receiving over Ofcom 100 complaints last week over the previous episode, following Ekin-Su's sexy routine and outfit.

John Fashanu and Alexandra Schauman left Dancing On Ice (ITV)

Love Island winner Ekin-Su scored a total vote of 21.5 points from the judges, as Ashley gave her a 5.5, Oti scored her a 6, Jayne and Christopher both a 5.

Yet, it proved to be a tough start to the series for Love Island's reigning champion, who landed in the bottom two after she received the least amount of public votes.

Ekin-Su appeared noticeably gobsmacked at the result, which put her at risk of going home in the first week, and quickly turned to talk with her dance partner Brendyn.

Dancing On Ice's Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu with Brendyn Hatfield survived the skate-off (ITV)

Meanwhile, her performance and daring outfit on the ITV show sparked 112 complaints to the TV regulator, as viewers at the time claimed it was "not appropriate" before the watershed.

Since then, Ekin-Su shared a defiant message following the complaints this week.

She hit back with a positive message of self-acceptance, as she told her fans on Twitter : "Don’t ever compare yourself to others. You are not a copy, you are an original. Craft your own individuality and sense of style! And just be yourself.”

In another tweet, Ekin-Su added: "Don’t study me. You won’t graduate."

Dancing On Ice airs Sundays at 6:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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