Rufus Hound was praised by Dancing On Ice viewers for “shaming the government” live on air this evening.
The comedian, 41, used the platform tonight to blast Tory MPs over the school meals scandal.
Last year voted down the Marcus Rashford’s bid to extend free school meals over the holidays.
While there was a u-turn over the decision, the school meals that were delivered earlier this month were slammed by mums as the parcels received were at an estimated cost of £5.22, as opposed to the £30 they were entitled to.
A brand new element to this year’s DOI series saw the judges tonight choose to give one of the celebrities a free pass to next week.
(Image: Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
This evening, the judges went on to cast their vote on who they would like to give the golden ticket to.
Ashley, John and Jayne all voted to give it to Rufus, which left him feeling incredibly emotional.
“I’ve spent most of this year being emotionally not stable,” Rufus said as he teared up at the surprise. “I don’t know what’s happening… I’ll keep trying.”
But when Phil pointed out that who would have imagined that he would be here last year, on skates and tearing up, Rufus referred to the school meals scandal.
He pointed out: “Mate, we live in a world where people we elect don’t want to feed hungry children, so this is the least mad thing that’s happened to me in a long time!”
(Image: ITV)
Fans took to Twitter to comment, with one writing with clapping emojis: “Rufus Hound shaming the government on #dancingonice.”
While another commented: “In the space of not even a minute I now want Rufus to win #DancingOnIce.”
A third wrote: “Rufus Hound calling out our disgusting government live on prime time TV. Perfect #DancingOnIce.”
“Rufus Hound Firing Shots on Ice #DancingOnIce #DoI,” another wrote.
One wrote: “Rufus’ dig at the Tories makes him my winner already.”
Another huge change to this year has seen the live studio audience scrapped due to the national lockdown.
(Image: ITV)
Explaining the impact this could have on the celebs, Jayne Torvill previously said: “The professional skaters will notice it more, as a celebrity on the first show they will probably be absolutely terrified, so it might make them feel a little bit more comfortable knowing there isn’t [an audience].
“Everyone is different.”
Earlier, host Holly Willoughby shared her excitement ahead of the hit ITV skating show’s launch this evening.
Taking a selfie on the way to the ice rink at RAF Bovingdon in Hertfordshire, Holly cosied up in a turquoise puffer jacket and hid her mouth behind a black face mask.
She captioned the Insta Story with a simple “Incoming!” and tagged Dancing On ice.
(Image: Instagram)
Phil also gave fans a glimpse at how the new Covid-secure studio looked like ahead of the live show.
Sharing a video of himself and Holly, standing two meters away behind him, he said: “We are finally reunited – well, we’re a long way apart – but we are in the Dancing On Ice studio and we’re all here.”
Showing off the elongated judges panel, which had perspex dividers between Jordan Banjo, John Barrowman, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Phil said: “Here’s the incredibly long judges desks and they are all in their own perspex compartments.”
“It’s the Titanic! The judging Titanic!” John called out.
This year’s skating competition has already been riddled with issues, though surprisingly not to do with Covid-19.
Last night, Denise Van Outen was rushed to hospital after dislocating her shoulder after falling face first during rehearsals.
Professional skater Yebin Mok is also unable to perform alongside her celebrity partner Graham Bell at the launch after a freak accident saw him stab her leg with his skate blade.
And Rebekah Vardy accidentally sliced pro partner Andy Buchanan’s face with her ice skates – but the pair are thankfully still able to perform tonight.
*Dancing On Ice airs tonight at 6pm on ITV
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/dois-rufus-hound-hailed-shaming-23336231