Ryan Thomas was left red-faced as he fell twice during his performance on Dancing On Ice on Sunday.
The actor, 39, took to the ice with his professional partner Amani Fancy, 26, to skate to the song Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat from the show Guys & Dolls during Musicals Week.
But he suffered some mishaps as he fell face first onto the ice before getting up again only to land back down on the rink moments later on his bottom.
Despite his falls, former Coronation Street star Ryan was awarded a score of 5.5 by guest judge Johnny Weir, and scores of 6.5 each from Christopher Dean, Jayne Torvill and Oti Mabuse, giving him a total of 25.
This left viewers unimpressed as comedian Lou Sanders was awarded almost the same score minutes earlier despite staying on her feet throughout her routine.
Lou was awarded scores of 6.5 each from Johnny, Oti and Jayne, and 7.0 from Christopher, giving her a total of 26.5.
American figure skater Johnny, who is standing in for Diversity troupe leader Ashley Banjo, told Ryan to ‘never be embarrassed’, before saying he had to give him a low score.
Viewers of the show took to social media to express their views, with many saying Ryan should have scored lower while others showed sympathy for the former Celebrity Big Brother winner.
One person wrote on Twitter: ‘So Ryan fell twice and was still scored the same as Lou by Oti and Jayne. Just goes to show that Lou is being undermarked week after week.’
While someone else shared: ‘How did Ryan get near enough the same score as Lou if she didn’t fall and he did twice?’
Another person posted: ‘So they gave Ryan 6.5 who fell TWICE, but gave Lou the same who didn’t?! Make it make sense.’
While someone else asked: ‘I missed Lou’s routine but I saw the scores, did she fall twice too? I’m surprised at the 6.5 for Ryan with two falls and the same for Lou?’
\Oh dear. Ryan is the first to fall twice in a live show in the same routine. And yet the judges still score 6.5. Utter ridiculousness. Johnny Weir is the only guy that seems to understand the rules and how to score a routine. Let’s keep him and bin Banjo for good,’ shared another person.
Someone else wrote: ‘Ryan was overmarked, fell twice and still got 6.5 huh?’
While another person asked: ‘Ryan still got 6.5 but fell twice? how?’
‘Aw no Ryan gutted for him falling twice he’s been so good up until now,’ posted another viewer.
While someone else shared: ‘My heart breaks for Ryan! Was an incredible skate until the falls. But as someone who used to skate, he got up and that’s what matters.’
One sympathetic viewer wrote: ‘He got straight back up, that’s all that matters.’
And someone else commented: ‘I think Ryan took the lyrics a little too literally. Sit down, you’re rocking the boat.’
It comes after Dancing On Ice viewers were left unimpressed during last Sunday’s episode of the show as they insisted the judges were favouring some celebrity contestants over others.
Taking to social media, fans claimed the panellists were ‘over-marking’ stars including Adele Roberts, Amber Davies and Miles Nazaire, while Ricky Norwood was ‘stitched up’.
Radio DJ Adele, 44, and her professional partner Mark Hanretty opened Dancing On Ice with a speedy Charleston to Hit The Road Jack by Ray Charles.
She scored 30 out of 40 possible points, with judge Oti saying it was a ‘brilliant way to open the show’.
Christopher said he was impressed with the volume and speed of the steps, while Ashley said he was a ‘huge fan of how much you jam-packed into the routine’.
Former Love Island contestant Amber, 27, performed a cha cha cha to Michael Buble’s Sway with partner Simon Proulx-Senecal.
She scored 34, the highest score of the series, beating Miles – who held that record for just a few minutes this week.
Asked about the risks she took with the bold routine, Amber said: ‘I am a bit of a daredevil, my mum and dad had a nightmare with me when I was younger.’
Made In Chelsea star Miles, 28, performed a ballet-inspired routine with partner Vanessa Bauer.
He scored 31.5 points, with judge Ashley hailing his ‘massive improvement’, while Jayne said his skating was ‘very silent and beautiful’.
Christopher said: ‘Who knew there was a (Rudolf) Nureyev lurking inside you?’
However, not all viewers agreed with the high scores – while some offered favourable views, others insisted the stars were ‘over-marked’.
One person wrote on Twitter: ‘Adele is good but tonight she slipped in that performance and was carried a lot in lifts. Judges ignored the mistakes. Overmarked tonight.’
While someone else wrote: ‘Amber and Simon very good but no dancing on her own and gets 8.5 jeez….one rule for one!!’
Comparing Adele to fellow contestant Lou Sanders, another viewer commented: ‘Lou is a far stronger skater than Adele, these marks are very unfair again.’
And someone else remarked: ‘So Adele nearly fell when landing out of a lift, and she’s gets high scores and Lou doesn’t make any mistake and still gets low marks, what earth are they watching because we see totally something different.’
‘Adele should have only got 6.5 to be honest she was not staking fast enough or smooth enough for the moves that she was doing,’ offered another viewer.
Someone else posted: ‘I really love Amber & that was a great performance, but I’m struggling to understand how they can score her that high when she didn’t let go of Simon’s hand the entire time? Surely she needs to be skating a bit on her own.’
While another audience member at home wrote: ‘It’s crazy how Amber is at the top of the score board with 34.0. She didn’t skate once on her own and the others were way better than her routine. She’s from an ITV show why am I not surprised?’
Another viewer posted: ‘I thought Miles & Vanessa were overmarked, yes it was good, but not that good. Worth 7s.’
And someone else shared: ‘Of course Miles gets the highest score of the series coz his partner is Vanessa.’
Comparing Miles to Ryan Thomas, another viewer shared: ‘I prefer Ryan to Miles. Miles is as bland as hell in comparison.’
While someone else wrote: ‘I give Miles and Vanessa 6.5. Really beautiful skating Miles, very expressive, but nowhere near enough ballet elements for me from you Miles, considering Vanessa’s beautiful ballet figures.’
Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday 18 February at 6.25pm on ITV1 and ITVX.Â
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
