Dancing on Ice hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were left to battle it out during Sunday’s live finale.
As they prepared to welcome the already eliminated stars, one skater wasn’t quite ready and forced the duo to fill the void.
Holly, 42, laughed as she and Philip, 60, joked that someone “hadn’t laced their boots.”
The awkward incident began with Phillip telling the audience: “All the couples this year have played a huge role, so please welcome our 2023 skating stars and their partners.”
The camera then panned to an empty ice rink only to flash back to the confused hosts seconds later.
Awkward: Dancing on Ice hosts Holly Willoughby, 42, and Phillip Schofield, 60, were left fighting during Sunday’s live finale
Sticky Situation: As they prepared to welcome the already eliminated stars, one skater wasn’t quite ready, forcing the duo to fill the void.
Always the professional Phillip said: They’ll be here in a second. Apparently someone is not ready.
As Holly, tapping her earpiece for an update, quipped: ‘Anyone nervous? Can we shame someone for this, can we name them? Oh, now we have them.
After a moment and the This Morning couple laughing like naughty children, the celebs finally showed up with Phillip declaring, “All things are worth the wait.”
Earlier in the episode viewers took to Twitter when they criticized the show’s ‘unfair’ voting rules.
Tensions rose in the skating competition as Joey Essex skated with his partner Vanessa Bauer, while Nile Wilson danced with Olivia Smart and The Vivienne skated with Colin Grafton.
But the race to Twitter viewers was quick to dub the show a “popularity contest” after lines opened before any of the finalists had even skated.
One frustrated fan wrote: ‘How can people be asked to vote (at cost) when no one has skated yet?’
While another added: ‘Skating is pointless if you can already vote. It’s just a popularity contest.’
LOL: Holly, 42, laughed as she and Philip, 60, joked that someone “hadn’t laced their boots.”
Finally! After a moment and the This Morning couple laughing like naughty children, the celebs finally showed up with Phillip declaring, “All things are worth the wait” (Patsy Palmer and Matt Evers pictured)
Back again: Ekin-Su Culculoglu also returned to the ice alongside fellow pro Brendyn Hatfield
A third said: ‘Why is #DancingOnIce voting open before the contestants have even started? Don’t they even pretend they want fair competition instead of a popularity contest?’
While another added: ‘DancingOnIce, what’s the point of someone skating if we can vote before skating? It just goes to show that it’s a popularity contest, not a skating contest.”
The final saw Nile Wilson be crowned the winner of Dancing On Ice 2023, beating out Joey Essex and The Vivienne in the grand final.
The Olympian broke down in tears as he joined fellow pro Olivia Smart to lift the glittering trophy, after wowing onlookers with his jaw-dropping take on the iconic Bolero skate.
Winner! The final saw Nile Wilson be crowned the winner of Dancing On Ice 2023, beating out Joey Essex and The Vivienne in the grand final.
Well deserved: The Olympian was in tears as he joined fellow pro Olivia Smart to lift the glittering trophy, after wowing onlookers with his jaw-dropping take on the iconic Bolero skate.
Getting emotional, Nile said, “I just want to say that 11 human beings proved that we can do anything if you put your mind to something and work hard, you can achieve anything.”
Runner-up Joey added: “I missed a few steps but it was the time of my life, well done Nile and Olivia.”
Vivienne and Colin placed third during the final, leaving Nile and Joey skating the iconic Bolero.
Nile came first with a classy performance, saying at the end, ‘I can’t believe I got emotional.’
Joey then jumped on the ice and gave an emotional performance, with judge Chris saying, “You’ve come this far” but pointing out a few missteps.