Rufus Hound will RETURN to Dancing On Ice for final performance after axe

Dancing On Ice’s Rufus Hound will return to the show for a final performance at the end of the series after being axed following a positive Covid test.

The comedian, 41, confirmed on Wednesday he’d been dropped by ITV bosses after contracting coronavirus, with his skating partner Robin Johnstone later revealing they’d be back for ‘one last skate’ in the coming weeks.

Rufus announced he’d been forced to withdraw from the show after already missing two weeks of shows due to self-isolation, and has been replaced by comedian Matt Richardson.

Rufus’ partner Robin shared a lengthy Instagram post thanking fans for their support, and confirmed they’d been back for a final skate once the comic had recovered.

She wrote: ‘I just want to thank everyone who was supporting Rufus and I this year unfortunately you can not predict what may happen in these crazy times and I’m very sorry Rufus and I can’t continue with @dancingonice

‘I’m very proud of everything he’s learned and thank you for our fun laughs on the ice. I’m disappointed we couldn’t perform this weeks fun number we had! 

‘Rufus I’m so glad you are doing well and thank you to everyone at @itv for keeping everyone safe we are ever grateful to have this opportunity to bring smiles and fun to everyone. 

‘Looking forward to joining the pros in a few weeks to skate some fabulous numbers and come back for one last skate and spin with Rufus in the final.’

Rufus took to social media on Wednesday evening to announce in a tweet and accompanying video message that he has had to withdraw from Dancing On Ice.

His withdrawal came after he had already missed two weeks of shows due to self-isolation – during which he tested positive with ‘a mild case’ of Covid.

Despite completing the government mandated quarantine time to recover from coronavirus, strict rules at ITV dictated he couldn’t return at all. 

Show bosses confirmed that Rufus and his professional partner Robin were both axed from Dancing On Ice and will be replaced by Matt Richardson, 29, and his pro-skater partner Vicky Ogden this weekend.  

He is the latest star to leave the show amid a series of unfortunate events, including Denise Van Outen’s departure due to injury, Graham Bell’s partner Yebin Mok’s injury and Billie Faiers’ one-week absence due to her grandmother’s death. 

On January 23, it was revealed that Rufus would miss two shows after coming into contact with somebody with coronavirus. He had to pull out in accordance with government guidelines, which state that he had to isolate for 10 days. 

During his isolation however, he discovered he had contracted the virus himself and despite completing the quarantine period, strict ITV rules state that he cannot return in a nod to the safety of stars and crew on the show.   

Breaking the news to his followers, Rufus tweeted: ‘I will no longer be participating Dancing On Ice. COVID is – as I’m sure we’re all well aware – a b**tard and sadly the world isn’t short of those.’

In an accompanying video from the comedian, Rufus admitted his disappointment as he said: ‘Hello it’s Rufus here, I’m going to keep this as brief as possible.

‘Lord knows this is not the first of these I’ve tried to record, they all seem to take a million years. So, I just really quickly want to say two things, the first is the news I won’t be participating in Dancing On Ice. 

‘Unfortunately having coming into contact with someone who had COVID and then isolating, it transpired that I myself had COVID. So I have dealt with that and quarantined and the like. 

‘Unfortunately, the rules in Dancing On Ice are completely… very cut and dry, very strict because they need to keep everyone on the production as safe as possible.

‘So it seemed like when I was just quarantining there might be a window of opportunity for me to get back to the show… A window I now know doesn’t exist.’  

Rufus admitted he had been excited to achieve more with Robin with the aim of making their performances ‘as crazy as possible.’  

He said: ‘That’s it. That’s the reason I’m not on Dancing On Ice… is the health and safety team said that’s something they can’t allow. And that sucks.

‘It sucks, because I got to spend a big chunk of the last six months with Robin Johnstone who has been a tremendous pal throughout all this, a brilliant ice dance teacher and a human sunshine.

‘I was ready for all sorts of mad ideas about things we would do, it’s one of the things that sucks… We could have dressed as battle dwarves from Dungeons and Dragons…

‘That was going to be one of the things, or for Valentine’s Day, do an ice rave to only love will set you free. 

‘We just really were setting out to make it all as crazy as possible, and now we won’t get a chance to do that. So, for the effort Robin put into trying to make it as good as possible for me, to make me as good as possible at ice dancing, sucks. 

In a statement, ITV spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that following a positive test result, Rufus Hound is unable to return to Dancing On Ice this weekend.

‘Although Rufus and his partner Robin’s time on the ice has been all too brief, they can be truly proud of their achievements. We thank them for all their hard work and commitment to the show.’

With the departure of Rufus and Robin, comedian Matt Richardson and his pro-skater partner Vicky Ogden will replace them on the line up from this weekend. 

It’s hoped that when the full cast reunite for the series’ final, Rufus will be able to be back in the studio with everyone. 

Ahead of his axe, Rufus had already missed two live shows of the competition after isolating because he came into contact with someone with covid, before testing positive with a ‘mild case’ himself. 

The announcement of his departure from the show came after Dancing On Ice informed all the celebrity skaters and their professional partners that if they test positive for coronavirus they will immediately be axed from the ITV show.  

An insider told The Sun of the rules: ‘Any of the celebrities or their partners going down with Covid now would mean two weeks out of the competition and training. It would leave them dangerously under-trained and it’s too risky to then have them skate.’

The insider added that the producers have to take the public vote into consideration, pointing out: ‘There’s the integrity of the public vote, which is the most important thing on the show.’  

An ITV spokeswoman has explained to MailOnline: ‘We have stringent protocols to ensure the health and safety of all our contributors and staff which are routinely monitored and updated to reflect government guidelines.’

‘Following the guidance on isolation, a positive Covid-19 diagnosis for any of our cast at this stage would mean two weeks missed and sadly an end to their time on the show. It has always been the case that no celebrity skater has missed more than one public vote.’   

Rufus revealed on Twitter on Friday night that he had Covid, explaining he had isolated as soon as coming into contact, tested five days later and is at the end of having it. He said it was a ‘very mild case’. 

He said: ‘I’ve had Covid. Isolated when I knew I’d come into contact with it, tested five days later, am coming to the end of having had it, luckily v mild case.’ 

The news that Rufus’ Dancing On Ice journey had come to an abrupt end comes after Denise Van Outen was forced to pull out of the competition early due to injury.

Reality star Billie Shepherd was also allowed to miss last weekend’s show after the death of her grandmother.  

Earlier in the week, it was reported that bosses were ‘refusing to axe Hound’ after historic tweets by the star using racist and homophobic slurs resurfaced and he was told he ‘won’t be kicked off the show’. 

A source claimed to The Sun that ITV was being hypocritical with Hound – following the axing of I’m A Celebrity star Jack Maynard back in 2017 after tweets emerged of him using racist and homophobic slurs. 

A source told the website: ‘Dancing On Ice have made their position clear and while Rufus’s tweets have been quietly condemned, right now it’s not being seen as an offence which would require his removal. 

‘It seems there is one rule for some, and one for another. After Jack was taken off I’m A Celebrity for the same kind of tweets, it was assumed that Rufus would be told he should step down.

‘But it’s been made clear to those working on the show that they’re standing by him.’ 

It was previously reported Dancing on Ice bosses were facing calls to remove Hound from the show after he tweeted claims that Theresa May planned the Manchester Arena terror attack.