Dancing On Ice winner Molly Lanaghan shares heartbreak at losing ITV job after show axing
DANCING On Ice winner Molly Lanaghan has shared her heartbreak after the ITV show was axed after 19 years on TV.
The skating professional, 26, joined the series this year and ended up winning the competition with Coronation Street‘s Sam Aston.
Just days before the show’s axe, Molly admitted it would be a huge “shame” if the programme did not return next year.
Molly said she was preparing for the call back for next year’s series – saying it was her “priority”.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Molly said: “I’d 100 per cent like to go back to [Dancing On Ice], if the show returns.
“It was really emotional to see [Torvil and Dean do their final dance on TV], I was so honoured to be asked to be in that.
“In the room, you could hear a pin drop.”
Molly told us at Nikita Kuzmin‘s Midnight Dancer tour in London: “It was my first Dancing On Ice, I just stopped competing.
“It would be really sad if it [DOI] didn’t come back because everyone loves the show.
“I started competing after watching Dancing On Ice, so for me, my whole skating career is from Dancing On Ice.
“If it doesn’t return, it’s nice I started on this season and won the last one.
Before news of the axing was announced, Molly said she believed the series still had a place on TV.
“But I think there is a space for Dancing On Ice, everyone loves it,” she said.
“It’s so exciting, seeing the celebrities is so hard what they do, so just seeing them put the hard work in and have passion in it.
“It’s nice seeing different sides of them, other than their characters.
The star admitted that she had her hopes set on the hit skating show being commissioned for an 18th series next year.
Molly shared: “I’m speaking to a few different things, but I’m seeing if Dancing On Ice comes back, because if it does come back that will be my priority.
“If it doesn’t come back, then I might do some other tours.”
Speaking about her winning moment, which will now go down in history as the final DOI champs, Molly said: “It was really surreal and so nice to share it with Sam. We built a really nice friendship.
“To do the whole journey together, having a really nice skate and winning and lifting the trophy together, it’s a surreal happy moment.
“Our final skate, the bolero was really Molly and Sam.
“There was no character that he was masking behind and he was doing a pure authentic performance, we were so in the moment together, looking in each other’s eyes. It was my favourite most wholesome skate.
“Me and Sam still sent voice notes and send each other videos all the time.”
The axing comes after ratings dwindled for this year’s series.
An ITV Spokesperson said: “Following another successful series earlier this year, Dancing On Ice will be rested in 2026 with no current plans for another series.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the cast and crew who have worked on the show since 2006, and over the previous 17 series, for all of their hard work both on and off the ice.”
The move leaves host Holly Willoughby with no work on the channel for the first time in 21 years.
Last week The Sun reported that the show’s set is being dismantled and being put into long-term storage fuelling speculation the show is set to be axed.
We exclusively revealed morale behind the scenes is low and many associated with the show are calling the move the “final nail in the coffin”.
A source said: “The staff have been told that the set is going into long-term storage and everyone thinks this is the final nail in the coffin.
“Nobody’s heard anything about the show next year and casting for the show usually starts next month, with the cast confirmed in June.
“At this stage bosses are normally approaching celebs and auditioning them – but there’s nothing, and with the set being dismantled, this can’t be a good sign.”