Dancing On Ice contestant Rufus Hound has been forced to miss this weekend’s show and will be isolating over the next 10 days.
Now needing to hunker down at home in-keeping with the government guidance surrounding coronavirus, his future on the skating show now appears to be up in the air.
Fortunately for the 41-year-old, he had already performed his routine on last week’s programme, but was due to return this week to form part of the group feature.
Rufus who earned himself the golden ticket and sailed through into Musicals Week, will now miss his opportunity to skate on next Sunday’s show too.
Rufus Hound has been forced to step out of the show this weekend (Image: ITV)
As reported by the Mirror, the comedian had tested negative for the virus and is obeying orders and staying at home.
The news will undoubtedly have a massive impact on Rufus’s training schedule with professional partner Robin Johnstone.
While Robin does not need to self-isolate, the professional skater will not appear on Sunday night’s show.
A spokesperson for ITV said: “This week Rufus Hound came into contact with someone outside of the show who tested positive for Covid 19.
Rufus has now been forced into isolation for 10 days after he came into contact with someone who tested positive (Image: ITV)
“This means, following government guidelines, he will isolate for ten days. We are hoping to welcome him back to the ice soon.”
To avoid an on-set outbreak everyone who works on the show whether they are a celebrity, professional or crew member have to undergo testing every few days.
Having to isolate will be a huge blow for Rufus who managed to win over all of the judges including; Ashley Banjo, John Barrowman, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean with his Super Mario skate.
Rufus won over the judges last week with his Super Mario performance (Image: ITV)
The dad-of-two became the first-ever contestant to be given the panel’s newest award, the golden ticket, which secures a guaranteed place in the next round for the chosen individual.
Even though Rufus became the chosen celebrity, it is not yet common knowledge if executives of the hit ITV show will allow him to return next week, once his 10 day period is up.
Meanwhile, Rufus also hit the headlines after he’d made a statement on the programme about the government’s failure to provide free school meals to poorer families during the pandemic.
His comments criticising the government live on-air raised a few eyebrows along with hundreds of complaints to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
