THEGAYUK

Tag: Dancing On Ice

All the latest breaking news on Dancing On Ice. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Dancing On Ice.

  • OPINION | Why aren’t lesbians the default when it comes to ‘ground breaking’ decisions like Dancing On Ice’s same-sex couple reveal

    OPINION | Why aren’t lesbians the default when it comes to ‘ground breaking’ decisions like Dancing On Ice’s same-sex couple reveal

    Dr Gemma Commane, lecturer in Media and Communication at Birmingham City University, says it’s important to question what this Dancing On Ice on a same-sex couple introduction change really means and the conversations it will create.

    OPINION | Lesbians are often overlooked or are subject to ‘tragic’ storylines and they are given less space to occupy.

    “Although it’s timely for Dancing On Ice to have a same-sex couple, it’s important to understand that decisions are political and have economic reasons,” said Dr Commane.

    “In this case, examples could be sustainability for the television show, maintenance of the brand and audience expectations.

    “We need to carefully think about what privilege means and what privilege looks like. Privilege is complex and it does not simply connect to one aspect of a person’s identity. 

    “Whilst it is fantastic that changes are happening, we need to ask: what do these ‘changes’ actually mean when certain voices and identities are still rendered invisible? 

    “Lesbians are often overlooked or are subject to ‘tragic’ storylines and they are given less space to occupy, especially in primetime television. Why aren’t lesbians the default when it comes to ‘ground breaking’ decisions when introducing same-sex coupling in shows like Dancing On Ice?

    “What would it mean for ‘Dancing On Ice’ to have a lesbian celebrity skating with a same-sex partner?

    “What types of conversations would arise from the media and audiences around this selection? If this had been the case, it would have been interesting to observe how news organisations would respond to an announcement like this and if they would write about the lesbian celebrity in predictable and fetishistic ways.”

  • Dancing On Ice introduces a gay couple for 2020

    Dancing On Ice introduces a gay couple for 2020

    Dancing On Ice has beaten BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing to introduce a same-sex couple in its show, in a landmark move for ITV.

    The show’s same-sex pairing will be Steps’ Ian “H” Watkins and he will skate and dance with Matt Evers, who came out as gay in 2016.

    A source told Digital Spy: “After conversations with the Dancing on Ice production team, H enquired as to the possibility of being paired with a male professional skater.

    “Dancing on Ice were fully supportive of a same-sex partnership and as such this year H will be paired with Matt Evers.”

    Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

    Same-sex couples have proved a controversial subject in previous years for TV shows which usually have opposite-sex couples dancing. Strictly Come Dancing has repeatedly faced calls for gay couples to take part, but producers have always stayed clear from allowing gay contestants to dances with same-sex professionals.

    Dancing On Ice returns to ITV in January 2020.

  • Jason Gardiner reunites feud with Gemma Collins after liking “Karma” tweets

    Jason Gardiner reunites feud with Gemma Collins after liking “Karma” tweets

    Jason Gardiner is in danger of reunited the feud between him and Dancing On Ice contestant Gemma Collins after liking a slew of negative tweets aimed at the TOWIE star.

    During last weekend’s episode, an audience of millions watched as Gemma Collins hit the decks during her performance in Dancing On Ice. The feud was first started when Jason launched a tirade against the TOWIE fave and seemed to call her “mediocre”.

    Gemma then swiped back during a live show, in which she said that he had been selling stories about her. Jason then allegedly threatened to sue the reality star.

    However, after her fall on the last show, things between the two had seemed to simmer down. With Gemma racking up a respectable 16.5 points from the judges.

    However, now, Jason has liked a number of comments which describe Gemma as “Vile” and that the fall had been a result of “karma”.

    One read: “Oh @officialJasonG how we all laughed. That’s what ya call karma. Just cannot believe shes still there!!! I no im [sic] evil.”

    Another said: “Keep going as u are, the likes of Gemma Collins makes me sick. She shouldn’t be In the show. Vile. Your [sic] a brilliant judge and know what your [sic] taking about (sic).”

    “Sometimes KARMA is there just staring at you straight in the face. When you fall on it. #honestjudge #myhonestopinion,” somebody else commented.

     

    Dancing On Ice is on ITV, Sunday at 6 pm 

    YOUR SUPPORT MEANS EVERYTHING

    Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.

    We’re asking our readers to pledge just £1 per month, more if you’re feeling swanky. You can stop payment at any time.

    It’s quick and easy to sign up and you’ll only have to do it once.

    Click to start the journey and support THEGAYUK!

  • Jason Gardiner just ripped Gemma Collins a new one

    Jason Gardiner just ripped Gemma Collins a new one

    Mr Nasty took a swipe at Gemma Collins and he didn’t hold back

    Living up to his “Mr Nasty” credentials, Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner seemed to slam Gemma Collins for being “mediocre” and described her performance on the ITV show last week as “painful”.

    Speaking to The Sun the Aussie theatre producer said, “When I grew up people were bl**dy good at what they did. They were exceptional at something, so you were inspired by people on TV.

    “Now we celebrate mediocre in this country. That, it seems, has become the new celebrity.”

    He also admitted that he had never seen The Only Way Is Essex, saying that he was “too busy” and that life was “too short” and so he had no idea who the GC was.

    He says he was at first excited to see her performance with Gemma’s own self declared hype, saying, “I had heard the hype from her own mouth, how amazing she is and how she’s better than Beyonce.

    “I thought, ‘Wow, wonderful, I can’t wait’, I’ve never had anyone that confident on the show at week one”

    Paying particular attention to last week’s routine, where Gemma Collins was dressed from head to toe in Gold he described her routine as painful and “uncomfortable” he said,

    “I was so excited. But then she came out and did what can only be described as one of the most painful routines I’ve ever had to sit through because it looked so uncomfortable.”

    Oooh errr.

    Dancing On Ice returns tonight on ITV 1

     

  • People really have had enough of “slime” Jason Gardiner

    People really have had enough of “slime” Jason Gardiner

    He may be known as Mr Nasty of the Ice Skating world, but his constant bitching at this year’s contestants on Dancing On Ice have viewers switching off.

    Is Jason Gardiner gay
    (C) ITV

    Jason Gardiner might be facing a backlash after his constant jibes at this year’s Dancing On Ice contestants. Viewers have been threatening to switch off after the “Mr Nasty” of ice skating could only raise criticism of the show’s newly trained hopefuls, which this year includes Saara Aalto and Brian McFadden.

    Fans of the show noticed that while Torvill and Dean could score the celebs quite highly, it was rare for Jason to go above a 4.5 out of ten, despite him not being a professional ice skater.

    On tonight’s show, viewers and fans ranted how “slimy” and “bitchy” Jason was coming off.

    https://twitter.com/Reece_Grant1/status/1082030753003782144

     

    Many viewers also spoke about their dislike of the Aussie-born choreographer, singer and theatre producer.

    Some even called on the producers of the show to take action against him. With one calling his interactions with the cast as “obnoxious rudeness” and finished by saying that it was not acceptable ”

    https://twitter.com/chrisnorman1947/status/1084518877579694081

    Some viewers have even taken to pausing the live show so they can “skip through” Jason’s critique of the cast.

  • Is Christopher Dean gay, bisexual or straight?

    Is Christopher Dean gay, bisexual or straight?

    He’s the world famous ice skater, along with Jayne Torvill, but is he married, single, gay, bi or straight?

    Is Christopher Dean gay, how old is Christopher Dean,

    Christopher Dean is currently starring in Dancing On Ice along with his skating partner Jayne Torvill, Ashley Banjo and Jason Gardiner, but is he married and who to?

    Is Christopher Dean gay or straight?

    Of course in 2019 does someone’s sexuality really matter? But it appears as though Christopher identifies as heterosexual as he’s previously been in two marriages with members of the opposite sex. He was previously married to a French-Canadian woman called Isabelle Duchesnay until they divorced in 1993. He then married another woman called Jill Trenary, an American skater in 1994, until they separated in 2010 amid rumours that Christopher had begun a new relationship with then Dancing On Ice judge, Karen Barber. Christopher and Jill have two sons together, Jack and Sam, who are based in the USA.

    Christopher has never spoken about his sexuality, therefore we can’t be completely certain about the star’s sexuality as he’s remained quite private about his love life.

    Is Christopher Dean married to Jane Torvill?

    Nope, the couple are great friends but are not together. They were reunited in 2006 when they were asked to take part in the show Dancing On Ice, before serving as the show’s creative directors in the following year.

    Where was Christopher Dean born and what year?

    Christopher was born in July 1958, which makes him 60-years-old in 2019. He was born in Nottinghamshire in the town of Caverton.

    How much is Christopher Dean worth?

    According to Celebrity Net Worth Christopher is worth $7 million (£5.4 million). He’s made his money from the Dancing On Ice show, sponsorships and publicity deals. Recently there was a biopic movie made about the world-famous skating pair called, Torvill And Dean, which aired in the UK on Christmas day 2018.

    Before hitting the big time with skating, Christopher Dean was actually a policeman!

    How tall is Christopher Dean?

    Christopher is around 5 foot 9 inches, or 1.77 metres tall.

  • TV star and Ice Skater Matt Evers comes out as gay

    “I live my life by example”


    Professional Ice Skater Matt Evers comes out as gay in an interview with Attitude magazine. The 41-year-old star who is set to take part in the ITV show, Dancing On Ice, reveals that he was brought up in a very strict religious household, but decided to come out after being inspired by his uncle, who died of an AIDS-related illness over twenty years ago.

    Speaking to the magazine, Matt said,

    “He was part of the original San Francisco and New York Fire Island crowd back in the 70s and 80s. I didn’t know I was gay at the time, but when he was dying it hit me really hard that he didn’t know the love of his mum, my grandmother,”

    “They were strict Catholics at the tip of the Bible belt. I wasn’t aware of why his passing and the thought of him never being accepted by his own family hurt me so much until I realised I was gay. It’s scary, the difference between generations.”

    Evers reveals that before his uncle’s death, he was “banished” from the family, due to the family’s strict religious views.

    Talking about his decision to come out before the show’s launch, Evers said,

    “I live my life by example, and I want to show young people that what you feel or how you were born isn’t something bad.”

  • OPINION: SAME SEX DANCING ON TV

    Same-sex dancing on TV – Is it time for a cha-cha-change?

    With Strictly Come Dancing‘s glitterball now but a distant memory, the New Year heralds the arrival of Dancing on Ice. The tantalising TV spots are out there and I’m sure you’ll all be tuning in to see those lovely buns and biceps doing some hard work! It made me think though, throughout all these types of dancing shows that grace our screens, when have we ever seen same-sex people dancing? It just doesn’t happen here in the UK.

    The likes of ballroom dancing and ice skating are there for pleasure and enjoyment, an artistic expression set to bring our senses alive, yet these both exude heteronormativity with male dancers ‘taking the lead’ at all times. Men lead these women around in their sexy attire and on their teetering and painfully high heels. Men show off their patriarchal ways, they are the all encompassing dominant bull. It’s a stereotype that has always existed and remains unchanged and put this all to music and everyone absolutely loves it.

    However, surely we all know that one of the purposes of art is for it to push boundaries? We’re living in a time when there is more equality in the sexes, as well as a much calmer social attitude towards gay people than ever. So why isn’t this being reflected in something artistic as dancing, which let’s be honest, gay people and women alike absolutely love?

    I think we are looking at a shift though, as snails paced it may be. Let’s take a look at Strictly this year and in particular, two couples – Richard Arnold & Erin Boag and Lisa Riley & Robin Windsor.

    Richard received a lot of confusing critique from the judges, he took on the lead role in his dances with Erin, but the judges would ask him to camp it up one week and then tone it down the next?! Surely this is a man that may actually prefer to be following and not leading, and what would be wrong with that? On one occasion Craig the judge exclaimed, ‘I’m not convinced you wanted to take Erin to the love shack’…this further backs up my point; it must be difficult for a gay newcomer to the world of dance, to then fully engage with a female dancer, taking the lead straight off. I would love to have seen Richard with Anton Du Beke, he may have performed a hell of a lot better, who knows, until the BBC start taking risks we shall never find out. If only Strictly was on a more liberal channel like Channel 4.

    We all know that Robin had his work cut out with Lisa too, but he was pretty much thrown about that dance floor and commanded by her (which was just fabulous), and on one occasion proved to Lisa he too could dance in high heels. Robin shows adaptability when he performs, and I do take my hat off to him, he is an amazing role model for gay guys as well as a brilliant dancer.

    Slowly but surely we can see that there does need to be a change here, I’m confident it will come but it’ll only happen from new thinkers instead of old traditionalists that are stuck in their ways.

    It’s a joy to see that times may be in fact be changing already. Blackpool, the Mecca of ballroom dancing, last year hosted the first ever Same Sex Open Championships to great delight. Alfons Heider (who it is believed Sacha Baron Cohen based his character Brüno on) also competed on the Austrian version of Dancing with the Stars with a male dancer. Even Israel’s own version of Strictly has had same-sex dance partners. So there is hope out there for us and I believe it’s only a matter of time before we have our gay celebs dancing with male counterparts. Top of my wish list for next years celeb entries to the world of dancing are Ricky Martin or Zachary Quinto please!

    by Lee

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.