ITV’s Dancing on Ice left a number of viewers fuming during the latest episode as the votes were opened at the start of the show.
The epic final kicked off on Sunday night (March 12), which saw The Vivienne, Nile Wilson and Joey Essex compete to be crowned this year’s winner.
But viewers were quick to complain that the programme was turning into a “popularity contest” as the voting lines were opened before any of the finalists had skated.
READ MORE: Dancing On Ice’s The Vivienne in horror fall leaving final skate in jeopardy
Taking to Twitter, disgruntled fans shared their thoughts.
One person wrote: “@dancingonice #DancingOnIce what is the point of anyone skating if we can vote before they skate? Just goes to show it’s a popularity contest not a skating contest.”
Another said: “Why is the #DancingOnIce vote open before the contestants have even started? Are they not even pretending they want a fair competition rather than a popularity contest?”
A third commented: “The skating is pointless if you can vote already. Its just a popularity contest #DancingOnIce.”
While a fourth added: “How on earth can the #DancingOnIce vote be open before they’ve skated? It’s not a talent contest. It’s a popularity contest. Blatantly so!”
The news comes after frontrunner Nile was accused of being overmarked throughout the series by the judges.
But after the claims were made by professional skaters about Nile’s scores, creative director Dan Whiston, who also choreographs the routines on the show spoke out.
Talking to Digital Spy, Dan said he doesn’t think Nile is being overmarked by the judges and he “respects” their scores.
He said: “We’re talking about Torvill and Dean on the judging panel. You’re not going to get better-qualified judges than Torvill and Dean. I fully respect their decision.
“You’ve also got Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse who are established dancers in their field.
“The judges are there for a reason, and I 100% respect their scores. And in my opinion, everyone else should.”
Nile recently shared that there will be a lot to look forward to during the final as all three contestants have been training heavily for their last performances.
He said: “We’re so excited, we can’t wait, we’re very grateful to have got to this position.
It’s a big change this week from what it’s been because we’re having to learn a lot more and skate a lot more. We’ve been on the ice for five hours a day for the last two days.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
