Ashley Banjo didn’t think Gemma Collins would get up after her terrifying ‘Dancing On Ice’ fall.
The controversial contestant took a painful-looking tumble during her routine over last weekend, and the judge admits it was "scary" seeing her face-plant the ice.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, Ashley said: "Me, Jayne [Torvill], Chris [Dean] and Jason [Gardiner] were probably the only people in the country who had the view we had, everybody else had the opposing view with the cameras behind, but we literally saw her face go hurtling towards the ice – so it was quite scary because she was skating at us when it happened!
"I didn’t think she was getting up to be honest, because what you can’t get with a camera is the complete physicality of it.
"There was a real thud and the ice is just so unforgiving – she hit it flat-on. So I really didn’t know if she was going to get up or not. She had my respect when she got up, definitely."
Gemma, 37, was left bruised and in pain after her fall on Sunday’s (27.01.19) live show, and she has also verbally clashed with judge Jason during her time on the ice.
While Ashley – who added that she has "really put the work in" recently – doesn’t agree with his fellow panellist all the time, he insisted he has to be respected.
He added: "He’s been a part of ‘Dancing On Ice’ for over a decade, so people know exactly what Jason’s like, they know the kind of critique he gives, so I don’t think the celebrities come into it blind.
"They can never say they didn’t sign up for it. But at the same time, he can be really brutally honest.
"If I was a contestant in the show, I would just find the truth, the useful critique in his comments, try to strip away some of the delivery and think ‘OK, that’s what I need to work on’. It’s about taking it with a pinch of salt."
The former ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ champion – who won the series in 2009 with dance troupe Diversity – also commented on the drama between Jason and Gemma, after the former described accusations he "sold stories" on her as "salacious" and "libellous".
Ashley said: "It’s always bound to happen when you’ve got big personalities clashing, and then you add in working hard, you add in tiredness.
"All of that breeds emotion and Gemma and Jason went at each other, and we saw Gemma put a lot of work in, then she had the big fall, so she’s on an absolute rollercoaster of a journey in this show."
Read the full interview here on the HuffPost UK website.
Ashley Banjo feared Gemma Collins wouldn’t get up from fall
