The new series of Dancing On Ice is said to have been thrown into chaos as host Holly Willoughby is yet to have signed her contract.
The TV presenter, 42, quit her role last month on This Morning after 14 years on the daytime show and is said to be hesitant about returning to front the ice skating competition.
Her co-host for both shows was Phillip Schofield, who quit the broadcaster just months before her after admitting to having had an “unwise, but not illegal affair” with a younger male colleague.
While his replacement has yet to be announced, it’s now been claimed that Willoughby has left Dancing On Ice bosses ‘in limbo’, despite the full line-up already having been announced and the launch show just weeks away.
An insider said: “In many ways the producers of Dancing on Ice are in limbo until they can resolve the issue of who’ll be steering the ship when the show returns.
“Although it usually doesn’t start until mid-January, bosses still now find themselves working on a timescale measured in weeks, not months.”
The source added to The Sun: “It’s a very precarious position to be in when they have all the crew and a group of celebrities already working towards the first show, but nobody nailed on to present it.”
Stephen Mulhern recently revealed that he had been in talks to replace Schofield, saying: “We are talking about it.
“But I promise you now that nothing is confirmed but if it happens, it will be absolutely amazing… if it doesn’t, look, it doesn’t.
“I promise you I would tell you if we had it confirmed at this point.”
The Standard contacted a representative for Dancing On Ice for comment, who declined to comment, saying “further announcements regarding Dancing on Ice will be made in due course”.
