Dancing On Ice officially 'shelved' amid viewing slump following rumours of ITV axing competition show

The Torvill and Dean vehicle has been the subject of cancellation rumours for months now after rating for the ITV celebrity competition show continued to shrink. It has now been confirmed that the show, which was most recently hosted by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern, has been shelved.

An ITV spokesperson told The Sun: "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."

Coronation Street actor Sam Aston won the final series of the show last month. Dancing On Ice previously went on hiatus between 2014 and 2018.

The axing has come as no surprise to some, after it was reported that ITV had been putting the set into long-term storage and were selling off costumes used on the show. The decision comes as viewing figures continued to drop over the course of the latest series.

Seven-day data from BARB showed that most episodes in the latest series failed to crack three million viewers, with the highest figures of the series being for the first episode, pulling in 3.31m viewers. The show hit its peak in 2008, attracting 12.08m viewers for the series three live final.

It comes after Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean announced that the latest series would feature their last-ever televised performance. The ice-skating champions are set to head out on a farewell tour across the UK beginning next month.