6 /10 1 Votes
Country of origin Australia Original network Channel Nine First episode date 11 July 2006 Number of episodes 8 | 6.1/10 IMDb No. of episodes 8 Picture format 16:9 Final episode date 29 August 2006 Presented by Jamie Durie, Sami Lukis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Location(s) TCN-9 Willoughby, New South Wales Running time 90 to 120 minutes (including commercials) Judges Karen Barber, Alisa Camplin, Jason Gardiner Genres Entertainment, Reality television Similar Dancing on Ice, Being Lara Bingle, The Outdoor Room, Backyard Blitz, Australia's Best Backyards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice was an Australian reality television series which was based on the original British version, Dancing on Ice. The series premiered on the Nine Network on Tuesday, 11 July 2006 at 7:30 pm, and involved celebrities ice dancing on a specially constructed ice rink located in Sydney's north-west suburbs. The series ran for one season before being axed, and the winner of the competition was model Jake Wall. The series reportedly cost several million dollars to produce, but only regularly managed above-average ratings at best.
Contents
Format
The couples were put up against each other to compete for the prize at the end of the series. The ten celebrities were teamed up with ten professional ice skaters and received special training from champion ice-skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean themselves. The real stars of the show, however, were home viewers, who got to vote for their favourite couples and the couple with the least votes were voted off the show each week until a winner was decided. The show was run in a similar format to the Seven Network's rival dancing show Dancing with the Stars which had been a major hit for the Seven Network over the past three years.
During training almost every contestant has suffered an injury of some sort, the most serious of which being Michael Slater severing a tendon in his hand after it was accidentally skated over by his partner. Giaan Rooney also dislocated her ankle just before the second episode of the series, and was forced to withdraw from the competition. The same thing happened to Annalise Braakensiek, who twisted her ankle during the broadcast of the fourth episode.
The show was hosted by celebrity gardener and backyard designer Jamie Durie and former Today weather presenter Sami Lukis. It was based on the British ITV show Dancing on Ice, which also featured Torvill and Dean, and is also roughly similar to an earlier Nine program Skating on Thin Ice, also hosted by Durie. Kristina, Pam, Pavel and Matt were also skating partners for the celebrities in the original UK version.
Plans of a reunion special
During the series, the Nine Network planned a live reunion special, also hosted by Durie and Lukis. It would feature all ten celebrities talking about their experiences on the show, and answering questions from a live studio audience. The main highlight would be Torvill and Dean themselves making a very special guest appearance in the studio, when they would congratulate the contestants, hosts, judges and indeed, home viewers for voting during the series. Sadly, following the cancellation of the show, the reunion special was also cancelled.