Dancing On Ice winner James Jordan almost pulled out of the final over injury

James Jordan has revealed he almost pulled out of the Dancing On Ice final.

It was former Strictly pro James who won Dancing On Ice 2019 last night, beating Love Island’s Wes Nelson and singer Saara Aalto in the final.

But he almost never made it to the ice.

James suffered a nasty arm injury in rehearsals and woke up at the weekend in “agony”.

Speaking on today’s (March 11) This Morning, he told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: “I fell on my shoulder, I’ve got a weak shoulder anyway. Then that night I couldn’t sleep, I was in agony.

“I got up in the morning and said to Ola, ‘I can’t move my arm’. I actually rang the producers straight away and said you’ve got to pull me out the show, my arm’s gone.

“They got me into physio, Sharon, and she spent six hours on my shoulder. I was on gas and air, she popped it back in and was trying to give me strengthening exercises.”

James went on to reveal his disbelief at being crowned the winner.

He said: “I was convinced that [Wes Nelson and Vanessa Bauer] were going to win. I know on social media, he’s massively popular. He’s got millions of people following him.

“It was the best experience ever. I mean, five and a half months, and I was training every single day. I was relentless going into the studio – because I think the expectation of me being a dancer was so high, and I never thought that I would win because of that as well.”

In the first half of the final’s results last night, after two performances from all of the celebrity couples, Saara was eliminated leaving James and Wes as the top two.

James and Wes then went on to perform once more, skating to the iconic Bolero, before hosts Phil and Holly returned to announce the winner as James beat Wes to victory.

He reacted: “I feel overwhelmed, my body is going to need a massive rest. I couldn’t have pushed myself any harder… It’s honestly been amazing.”

James’ pro skater Alex added: “I’m so proud, I couldn’t be prouder”

James joins fellow Dancing On Ice winners Gaynor Faye, Kyran Bracken, Suzanne Shaw, Ray Quinn, Hayley Tamaddon, Sam Attwater, Matthew Wolfenden, Beth Tweddle, Ray Quinn and Jake Quickenden.

Dancing On Ice airs on ITV, with another series already confirmed for 2020.