Dancing on Ice viewers enjoyed an eclectic soundtrack this evening as ITV aired an episode of the competition dedicated to musicals.
Among the songs the celebrities glided along to in their skates tonight (Sunday, February 20) was Stars from Les Misérables, which musician Connor Ball danced to alongside his professional partner Alexandra Schauman.
The Vamps singer scored 40.5 despite tumbling during his performance after coming out of a lift. Judge Ashley Banjo said that he was “gutted” about the fall but that it was so big he "had to take the points away."
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Guest judge Dame Arlene Phillips added: “I felt the emotion, the big picture is the love, it was just right so truthful, I was completely carried away.”
Judge Oti Mabuse also offered her critique, stating that she was "really proud" of Connor's performance as it showed a different side of his skills. However, she added: "When it came to the skating, the choreography, I would have loved a lot more love connection and to know that it is a tragic love story.
"I didn't really get that, and that was, for me, why the marks went down." She said the fall "doesn't bother me". The comment about love was criticised by some Les Mis fans, however, who said the song is not intended to be romantic.
"Stars is nothing to do with a love song! Its about policeman and his eternal chasing of a "convict"" tweeted one viewer. A second echoed: "A hard song to sing" from Arlene is better than Oti insisting Stars is about a tragic love story."
Another added: "Umm…Stars isn’t a love song. It’s a song about a man considering suicide. Not that romantic really. Shame some of the judges don’t actually know what it’s about."
'Sofie' tweeted: "Why is everyone still going on about romance….“Stars” is NOT a romantic song it’s about a cop swearing to catch a criminal. How can you be romantic to that."
A fifth Les Mis fan commented: "Mum’s watching #DancingOnIce. They’ve just talked about how they didn’t show enough of a love story. In a skate to Stars from Les Mis. I know there’s probably Valjean/Javert fanfic out there but not quite the point of the song…"
According to lesmiserables.fandom.com, Stars is the 19th song in Act I of the musical. Its description states: "It takes place after Javert unwittingly saves Valjean and Cosette from Thénardier and his gang's attempt to rob both of them, and subsequently discovers that Valjean, his old time rival, has surfaced once again, but has slipped through his grasp.
"He vows to complete his manhunt...The majority of it is a solo piece, sung in its entirety by Javert, explaining some of his reasonings for pursuing the law the way he does, and reiterating his resolve to capture Valjean once and for all."
It's not the only element of the show viewers have questioned tonight. As The Mirror reports, some people alleged there was "favouritism" after disagreeing with the disparities in scores between two of the dances.
However, many viewers also took to social media to sing the praises of the show, and of Oti in particular. "Oti Mabuse is just such a joy to watch and listen to" declared one fan.
Another agreed: "I actually think I forgot to breathe, @OtiMabuse looks incredible."
After acknowledging his slip-up on his own Twitter account, joking "hello connor fall" in a play-on-words on his name, Connor's followers encouraged him not to let it knock his confidence. The pair scored 8s across the board except from Arlene, who awarded 8.5.
Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole received the first 10 on the Dancing On Ice series from Arlene for his first performance with replacement skating partner Brendyn Hatfield.
Dancing on Ice airs on Sundays at 6pm on ITV.
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