Dancing on Ice viewers were left confused on Sunday evening as audiences in the studio booed the judges as they scored Paralympian Stef Reid.
After Stef took to the ice rink for her debut performance alongside partner Andy Buchanan, the judges scored her a total of 24, with a string of sixes.
But as judges Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse called out their number scores, the audience alongside the ice rink booed the modest ratings.
Dancing on Ice viewers at home took to Twitter to express their confusion over the response from the audience, particularly given that this was Stef’s debut performance.
One viewer wrote: “Why are they booing a 6, it's only the first week she's skating #DancingOnIce”
Another tweeted: “Why are the audience booing 6s? That's a great score for her first skate! #DancingOnIce”
A third wrote: “What are they booing for ?? #dancingonice”
A fourth said: “Why are they booing!!? That was OVERMARKED!”
However, a number of viewers praised the performance, with one writing: “I think 6’s were quite low for that performance! It was actually super incredible #DancingOnIce.”
The 36-year-old athlete has previously opened up about her fears of skating on her artificial leg ahead of her ice rink debut this weekend, with Stef saying it was the “hardest thing” she has ever done.
In an appearance on ITV show Lorraine, she said: “It was really hard at the beginning, because I had never skated before, so I didn’t really know what I needed and the first few months were such a struggle.
“I didn’t have any confidence putting weight on my artificial side and the thing with skating is you have to be able to balance evenly.”
Stef said that in everyday life she can “cheat a little bit” and rely on her real leg more than her prosthetic, but said this was not an option in the ice rink.
She said: “It was a little bit disheartening initially, but we eventually found a set up that works quite well and it's given me a lot more confidence.”
