ITV bosses have secretly recorded a lockdown series of ‘Dancing On Ice’ specials amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The broadcaster – which was recently forced to cancel this summer’s ‘Love Island’ series – decided to record secret episodes over fears they won’t be able to film the live shows due to the health crisis.
A TV source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "Obviously no-one knows when lockdown measures and social distancing will be fully eased – but ‘DOI’ has become a fixture in the winter TV schedules.
"It’s be a hammer blow for ITV to lose it. As such, they’ve filmed some lockdown episodes – working title: ‘Dancing On Ice Specials’ – to fill that gap, should the live programmes become untenable."
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are involved with the specials, as they look back at memorable moments from the show.
Previous ‘Dancing On Ice’ contestants – including the likes of Gemma Collins, Joe Swash and Jorgie Porter – have also contributed to the upcoming shows.
The source added: "Chris and Jane have been reflecting on their time on the show, and there will be loads of behind the scenes, never-before-scene clips.
"The hope is that these can be screened on ITV2 as a spin-off if the main series is able to go ahead – but execs don’t want to take any chances."
Meanwhile, ITV recently cancelled this summer’s ‘Love Island’, saying it wouldn’t be able to guarantee the safety of the contestants.
Kevin Lygo, the director of television at ITV, explained: "We have tried every which way to make ‘Love Island’ this summer but logistically it’s just not possible to produce it in a way that safeguards the wellbeing of everyone involved and that for us is the priority.
"In normal circumstances we would be preparing very soon to travel out to the location in Mallorca to get the villa ready but clearly that’s now out of the question."
Dancing On Ice has ‘recorded secret lockdown specials’
