Dancing On Ice’s Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield celebrate friendship amid tension rumours

Holly Willoughby has admitted that she was “terrified” of working with Phillip Schofield when they first presented together for Dancing On Ice together. 

It has been 13 years since they made their presenting duo debut on the show and despite recent rumours that Schofield has been “difficult” on This Morning, the pair seem happier than ever. 

Willoughby said she would “cringe the whole way through” if she was forced to watch her Dancing On Ice debut live show back.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the ITV skating show, the mother-of-three said: “It was such a blur. It was so huge.

“It was primetime and I was stood next to Phillip Schofield! It was terrifying. I can’t remember any of the show apart from getting through it.”

“It could have been so catastrophically bad,” she continued. “I haven’t watched it back for a long time. I must have watched it back at the time, over and over again.

“To watch it now, I’d probably cringe the whole way through it.”

Schofield seemed to be on the same page, and thanked the show for bringing them together.

“That first show was so huge!,” he said. “We were terrified, the pair of us were really scared. It was a very big show and a big new idea. There is also an element of danger with Dancing on Ice, which we don’t have in anything else.

“You’re constantly thinking ‘Wow. Someone could hurt themselves here. And it’s live.”

“So, that’s why it worked so perfectly because we think at the same speed, we’ve got the same sense of humour. It works so well.”

Willoughby has since called her presenting partner her “best mate”, putting to bed allegations that there was a tensions forming between. 

This comes after Michael Barrymore was forced to quit the show after breaking his wrist during rehearsals. 

He will be replaced by Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya.​

Barrymore was part of the line-up for the 2020 series alongside stars including Love Island’s Maura Higgins, Ian H Watkins, Trisha Goddard, Caprice, Lisa George, Lucrezia Millarini, Kevin Kilbane, Perri Kiely, Libby Clegg and Ben Hanlin.

H From Steps has been paired up with Matt Evers and the duo will make history by being the first ever same-sex couple to compete on the show. 

This series will be ground-breaking in more ways than one as Paralympian Clegg will be the first ever blind contestant. 

Dancing On Ice retuns on Sunday, January 5 on ITV.