Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson wowed both judges and fans at home in the opening episode of Dancing on Ice after taking on some daring moves in his debut performance. The Yorkshire athlete partnered with professional Olivia Smart to take on their performance to Harry Style's Sign of the Times which involved an ambitious leap in the air during the emotional routine.
The 26-year-old's techniques went down a storm with judges who were all united in their praise, with Ashley Banjo, Oti Mabuse, Christopher Dean and Jane Torvill all predicting excitings things to come, as Nile promises to do something "never seen before" on the reality show. The "medal-worthy performance" bagged Nile the highest score of the night, with a huge combined 29.5.
And fans at home were equally impressed, with many predicting Nile's place in the final. One fan tweeted: "Wow! Was that really a first week performance? Amazing! Nile & Olivia, I can’t wait to see what you bring to the ice next time. Fab-u-lous", while another added: "I reckon he’s a contender for the crown. Just didn’t look like a week 1 performance. Amazing."
Read more: Dancing on Ice viewers in stitches after cheeky Christopher Dean slip up
One fan said: "Wow, there's ya winner, great song too, well done Nile #dancingonice" and another agreed: "That performance from Nile tonight deserves to be in a Quarter Final. It was breathtakingly beautiful. He'll be one to watch this series for sure.#DancingOnIce. Well done."
With many predicting Nile's journey to the final, others suggested Joe Essex could be joining him as one fan predicted: "Already looks like Joey v Nile". It comes as Love Island's Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu faces the dance off next week for her performance to Britney Spear's Toxic.
Nile's performance was made even more meaningful as it comes just two years ago after the Olympic was forced to retire with a career-ending neck injury. Explaning the impact of the reality series, he said: “Retirement is the single hardest thing for an athlete to cope with, it’s hard to accept the next chapter in your life. I hoped Dancing on Ice would help me, and it definitely has. Just getting into that routine and having a little bit more of a purpose has helped me mentally."
Read more:
'I wake up at 4am every day to run a half marathon before I go to work and it's changed my life'
The Chase's Bradley Walsh baffled at 'jammy' first question in celebrity special
