Dancing on Ice star ‘will not return’ for 2024 final after failing to accept invite

‘We’d love them to be a part of Sunday’s final,’ an ITV insider said

A Dancing on Ice star has declined to accept an invite to appear during the 2024 final.

On Sunday (10 March), the latest series of the ITV skating competition will draw to a close, with Adele Roberts, Greg Rutherford, Miles Nazaire and Ryan Thomas competing for the trophy.

As is the norm with previous finales, the series will welcome back this year’s crop of eliminated contestants, which include Amber Davies, Eddie the Eagle and Ricky Hatton, who made headlines after “punching” the show’s co-host Stephen Mulhern in a funny skit.

However, one contestant, S Club singer Hannah Spearritt, has declined to accept an invite to appear, with an insider at the channel telling The Independent: “Naturally we’d love Hannah to be a part of Sunday’s final and skate alongside the other cast members of 2024 but as yet, have not received confirmation from Hannah or her reps that she will be taking part in the show.”

While contestants typically get to skate again for a chance to save themselves from elimination, Spearritt was not given the chance to do so, and was instead hurriedly eliminated from the show in the second week based on judge’s scores and public votes alone.

At the time, viewers complained about the change in format, with several people urging ITV to make the episodes longer so the skate-off isn’t forfeited. One person commented on X/Twitter: “I’ve never seen anything more rushed in all my life.”

The Independent has contacted Spearritt for comment.

Spearritt, who said she was “disappointed” by her early departure, suffered a fall ahead of her elimination from the show. Addressing her fans before the episode began, she said in an Instagram video: “The show starts in three hours, I’ve had a fall. It is just a reminder that it is quite a dangerous thing that we’re doing.”

This year’s Dancing on Ice marked Holly Willoughby’s return to TV after a three-month hiatus; the former This Morning presenter quit the breakfast show last October, in the wake of co-host Phillip Schofield’s departure in May.