Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner doesn’t know who the celebrities are

Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner has already taken his first swipe at this year’s celebrities.

The stars have yet to take to the ice but the acid-tongued panellist hasn’t waited around to get a dig in.

Speaking at this year’s launch show at the Natural History Museum Ice Rink, Jason remarked that he doesn’t know who most of the new celebrities are.

“I don’t know what they are famous for. I didn’t know what Love Island was. I’d say I didn’t know 80% of the line-up. Sorry, I’m being honest,” Jason said.

He surprisingly then confessed: “The thing is I don’t own a TV.”

Jason added: “They’re not celebrities, they’re contestants in a competition… they are just people and want to be treated evenly and equally.”

Jason returns to the Dancing On Ice panel alongside a trio of new judges: Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo and former coaches on the show, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

Despite describing Olympic skaters Torvill and Dean as his “idols”, Jason said he won’t shy away from disagreeing with them.

“It’s going to be very difficult to argue with your idols. But, at the end of the day, they are on my panel. I won’t bow down to them if I think they’re wrong,” he told the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Celebrities signed up for the Dancing On Ice 2018 line up include soap star Brooke Vincent, Love Island contestant Kem Cetinay, Great British Bake Off’s Candice Brown, X Factor singer Jake Quickenden, Rugby hunk Max Evans, and ITV Weatherman Alex Beresford.

Joining them are singer Lemar, athlete Perri Shakes-Drayton, Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton and Hollyoaks star Stephanie Waring.

Dancing On Ice will start on Sunday, January 7 on ITV.