Holly Willoughby has been dealt a massive blow by ITV after her final TV contract ended with a bang. Dancing on Ice has been axed after 19 years on air, leaving hosts Holly and Stephen Mulhern without a job on the Strictly Come Dancing rival. With Holly leaving This Morning in 2023, the move by ITV confirms her last mark on the network.
Holly’s last appearance on ITV2’s Celebrity Juice came in 2020, while her role on the rebooted Surprise, Surprise ended in 2015. She enjoyed a single series stint as the host of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, and has also presented shows like Text Santa, The Xtra Factor and two special episodes of rebooted game show You Bet! in 2024.
Now a spokesperson for ITV has officially confirmed that Dancing on Ice will end after viewing figures dropped below 3million in 2025. Judges Torvill and Dean have already announced their retirement, deciing to hang up their skates when their final tour comes to an end in May.
A spokesperson confirmed: “Following another successful series earlier this year, Dancing On Ice will be rested in 2026 with no current plans for another series.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the cast and crew who have worked on the show since 2006, and over the previous 17 series, for all of their hard work both on and off the ice.” The set for the show is reportedly being dismantled and placed into long-term storage.
Holly, meanwhile, landed a role alongside Bear Grylls on Netflix series Celebrity Bear Hunt – but one Netflix insider told Express.co.uk that the show was a “flop” because “nobody knows who Holly Willoughby is”.
Our source said: “Netflix execs really believed that Celebrity Bear Hunt was going to be a huge success. Sadly, the reality is that despite the huge financial cost to the series it has proven to be a flop.
“Now fingers are being pointed and internally the blame is being laid at the decision to use Holly Willoughby as the host. She might be a household name in the UK, but outside of Great Britain nobody knows who she is."
