THE SNOW MUST GO ON!
Dislocated shoulder in training can’t stop Denise Van Outen from dazzling in Dancing On Ice
IN the words of host Phillip Schofield, it was the ‘epitome of the show must go on’.
Denise Van Outen bravely skated on the opening episode of ITV’s Dancing On Ice last night despite a horrifying fall in training.
The actress and presenter, 46, needed hospital treatment after partially dislocating her shoulder in rehearsals last Thursday. There were fears that she would not be recovered in time to appear alongside her skating partner Matt Evers last night.
But she danced through the pain barrier and avoided any further accidents during her routine, although at times she looked tentative and uncomfortable.
She was seen holding her strapped shoulder as she sat on the ice at the end of the routine, and appeared to mutter ‘oh my arm’ as she leaned back.
The judges gave her a score of only 19.5 out of 40, drawing boos from the other contestants in the celebrity skating contest.
Despite her low score, however, Miss Van Outen was saved from next week’s skate-off once the public had voted. Footage of her accident in training was broadcast during the show.
‘I was rehearsing with Matt, hit my toe pick and went flying,’ Miss Van Outen told The Sun on Sunday. ‘Straight away I knew I’d done something. I just thought, “Please don’t let it be a break”.’ After being taken to hospital an X-ray revealed that she had partial dislocation of her left shoulder and tendon damage.
She put a picture on social media of her being treated by medical staff and holding an ice pack to her face.
Yesterday she write on Instagram: ‘Thank you for all your lovely messages this morning. Told you I’m clumsy on the ice!’ She thanked the ‘glorious
NHS’ for ‘looking after me because I know how overstretched you are at the moment’. A show spokesman said her hospital visit had not compromised the rules the programme has in place to tackle the threat of Covid.
Her routine to Tina Turner’s song Proud Mary had to be adapted to account for Miss Van Outen’s injury because she could not lift her arm.
After her performance, she said: ‘Actually, it’s really sore, but because of the adrenaline I can’t feel it.’ She added she was ‘more concerned’ that she had not shaved her armpits for four days.
Skater and show judge Christopher Dean said he could see her performance had been ‘tentative’. But the judges said they were looking forward to seeing what she could bring to the ice once her injury had healed.
Last night’s Dancing On Ice launch show also included performances from Jason Donovan and Rebekah Vardy. Comedian Rufus Hound and his partner Robin Johnstone were put straight through to week three of the competition after the judges voted their performance the strongest.
‘Actually, it’s really sore’