Jason Gardiner has claimed that Gemma Collins is “unfairly” overshadowing her fellow Dancing On Ice contestants.
In an interview on The Jeremy Vine Show on Friday, Dancing On Ice judge Jason was quizzed on the ITV series ahead of the latest episode.
He complained about the focus on Gemma, while also having his say on their on-air row during last month’s live show.
“It’s annoying,” Jason said. “We’ve got an amazing line up this year and have people who are so good on the show, and it seems to be all we ever talk about is one particular contestant who really isn’t that good on the show as a competitor in terms of what she is physically able to do on the ice.
Asked if Gemma was overshadowing other celebrities, Jason responded: “Yes, I think unfairly so. We’ve got Melody [Thornton], Wes [Nelson], quite a few who are starting to breakaway and commit, and they’re brilliant…”
Jason went on to reflect on his clash with Gemma over her claims he had ‘sold stories’ about her to the press.
The pair ended up in a nasty clash just two weeks into the series, after Jason slammed Gemma’s skating skills and she responded with the allegations live on air.
Jason said of the argument: “It was surreal. I have a bad day at the office and it’s in front of millions of people. It was an outrageous allegation.
“It was ridiculous it was even brought up on a family show like that.”
Jason’s comments come after Gemma called for him not to go ‘personal’ with his feedback.
“I do agree with some of the comments [Jason] said — I can’t skate as well as the others — but the only reason I didn’t like what he said was because he brought up about the lifts and I felt that was regarding my weight,” she said in the week.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Gemma explained: “It felt like he was saying no one could lift me. At the end of the day, the show’s not called Lifts On Ice, it’s called Dancing On Ice. He did want to sue me but I think he’s not doing it now, I think he realised he shouldn’t have personally gone for me.
“There’s so much more he could have said and he didn’t need to bring up about the lift and the weight.”
She added: “I do work hard. People just can’t believe I’m a big girl and I’m successful.”
Dancing On Ice 2019 airs Sunday night at 6PM on ITV.
