Dancing On Ice Odds: Could The ITV Show Be Cancelled?

Dancing on Ice looks to be skating on thin ice, according to new reports. 

The ITV ice-skating reality series is said to be facing an "uncertain future", after show judges and Olympic skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean recently announced they will be retiring from ice skating next year, and will bow out with a farewell tour. 

Now, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper, ratings for the show are "low" compared to the programme's heyday, when 12m people would tune in. 

A source told the newspaper: "Dancing on Ice faces an uncertain future. The ratings are low for a big weekend show and without Torvill and Dean putting in their performances this could be the end of the road. It is an incredibly expensive show to make. It only works if it gets a big audience."

As a result, it's odds-on on betting sites that Dancing on Ice isn't renewed for a new series. 

However, ITV have insisted the programme is a "popular format" for the company after more than four million tuned in for the show's launch episode. 

A show spokesman told the publication: "Dancing on Ice remains a popular format for us, having launched with 4.2m viewers."

After more than 4m watched January 14th's first live show, just over 3.5m saw the second show, followed by 3.33m the following week, according to seven-day data viewing figures from BARB. 

Such ratings have sparked speculation that Dancing on Ice may come to an end sooner rather than later. 

Dancing On Ice's Future Melting Away? 

It is 4/6 on specials betting sites that the current 16th series will be the show's last, and it is 6/4 for the programme to return in 2025 for a last-ever series. 

This year saw Holly Willoughby return to co-host the programme, and she has been joined by Stephen Mulhern, who replaced Phillip Schofield, while judges Torvill and Dean, and Oti Mabuse and Ashley Banjo returned to the panel. 

But it was also reported in the Daily Mirror this week that next year's show could be billed as "one last hurrah" for Torvill and Dean, after their recent retirement news.

If show bosses or ITV don't decide to call time on the series this year or next year, then it is 3/1 the programme's fate is sealed in 2026, or it is 5/1 the show continues until 2027 or later. 

Torvill And Dean To Bow Out Of DOI Within 12 Months? 

In the wake of the latest speculation, Torvill and Dean have remained 1/2 with betting apps to end their Dancing on Ice journey when the current series concludes. 

It could be a fitting departure for the pair and give them some extra time in early 2025 to rehearse for their farewell run of shows. 

However, the pair's tour isn't scheduled to take place until April 2025, meaning they may have purposefully left time in their schedules to return to the Dancing on Ice panel from January to March next year. 

Following the latest speculation that next year's Dancing on Ice will be "one last hurrah" for the pair, it is just Evens, from 11/8 a couple of weeks ago, that they bow out of the ice-skating series in 2025.

Torvill And Dean Will 'Always Be Back' 

However, on Sunday February 18th's Dancing on Ice episode, Christopher insisted the pair's judging panel chairs will "remain with us" and said he and Jayne are "always going to come back to Dancing on Ice."

Host Holly Willoughby then said: "You're not going anywhere," and Torvill and Dean both shook their heads and said: "No."

It is 4/1 with new betting sites that Torvill and Dean exit Dancing on Ice at the end of the 2026 series, while it is 10/1 they bow out in 2027 or later. 

One thing we do know is the pair - who spent the first nine Dancing on Ice seasons as mentors to the celebrities, before moving to the judging panel from series 10 until the current 16th season - will perform their iconic Bolero routine in this year's Dancing on Ice finale.

Of course, that routine won them Olympic gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. 

It won't be the first time they have done so in a series final, but the magical moment will once again be a huge treat for viewers and their die-hard fans.

It will also be extra special if this year's finale ends up being their last-ever series as Dancing on Ice judges. 

* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.