Dancing On Ice contestant Joe-Warren Plant brushed off this week’s accusations of a ‘fix’ on the ITV show as he headed to another day of training on Thursday.
The soap star, 18, laughed and chatted with his pro partner Vanessa Bauer as they arrived for a day on the ice in Blackpool.
Earlier this week the pair were embroiled in a fix row, after insiders accused Emmerdale star Joe of having figure skating lessons before his training started with Vanessa.
Feeling good: Dancing On Ice contestant Joe-Warren Plant brushed off accusations of a ‘fix’ on the ITV show as he headed to another day of training with Vanessa Bauer on Thursday
Joe-Warren dressed for his gruelling day on the ice in leggings layered under shorts and teamed with a hoodie, keeping warm in the freezing temperatures by pulling his hood up.
Vanessa meanwhile seemed to be struggling against the cold, pulling her own hood tight around her as the rain fell in Blackpool.
On Tuesday Joe’s fellow celeb contestant on the show Sonny Jay weighed in on the skating lessons row.
The Capital FM presenter, 27, discussed the furore surrounding reports during Tuesday’s breakfast show with his co-hosts Sian Welby and Roman Kemp.
Smiles: The soap star, 18, laughed and chatted with his pro partner as they arrived to a day on the ice in Blackpool
Chilly: Joe-Warren dressed for his gruelling day on the ice in leggings layered under shorts and teamed with a hoodie, keeping warm in the freezing temperatures by pulling his hood up
Sonny admitted he thought that whether Joe-Warren has had prior lessons or not, he should be allowed to get on with it due to his young age.
He said: ‘We’ve gotta remember he’s 18 years-old, he’s on there, he just wants to enjoy it and all that sort of stuff.
‘Like, I don’t know, I think it’s a bit harsh to be honest, he’s so young.’
Sian asked him: ‘Do you think it’s the pressure? Do you feel a lot of pressure?’
While Sonny replied: ‘There is a lot of pressure. No one wants to do badly, I mean, again, no one wants to fall over in front of millions of people, do you know what I mean?
Lovely weather! Vanessa meanwhile seemed to be struggling against the cold, pulling her own hood tight around her as the rain fell in Blackpool
Reports: Earlier this week the pair were embroiled in a fix row, after insiders accused Emmerdale star Joe of having figure skating lessons before his training started with Vanessa
Not bothered! On Tuesday Joe’s fellow celeb contestant on the show Sonny Jay weighed in on the skating lessons row
‘And that’s the show, it’s just completely out of your comfort zone. And if he’s obviously had lessons – if he has, I don’t even know if this is true…’
Roman added: ‘Do you think the other contestants would care? Because obviously I know you don’t care, but do you think the other contestants would care?’
Sonny said: ‘To be honest, I don’t. Again, he’s so young, just let him…’ While Roman concluded: ‘He’s 18 years old, yeah, why not?’
The Emmerdale actor allegedly had figure skating training before he was partnered with pro skater Vanessa Bauer, 24.
According to The Sun, some of the other professionals on the show are unimpressed and feel Joe has an unfair advantage over the other celebrities.
Row: Joe-Warren is reportedly at the centre of a Dancing On Ice fix row after he is said to have took skating lessons before the show
The skaters are also said to be annoyed at Vanessa’s recent insistence that the actor does not have any prior skating experience.
Vanessa recently wrote online: ‘Joe has never skated before and was definitely not a natural.’
An insider said: ‘To repeatedly say Joe is a complete amateur is just nonsense. He might not be the most accomplished skater, as viewers saw on Sunday night with his fall, but he’s far from a novice.
‘He took lessons in figure skating in Blackpool before he was officially partnered with Vanessa.
Practice makes perfect: The skaters are also said to be annoyed at Vanessa’s recent insistence that the actor does not have any prior skating experience
‘He’s not broken any rules and he’s not kept it a secret from the producers, but it’s not exactly in the spirit of the competition where everyone starts from scratch.’
ITV has since denied the claims, telling MailOnline: ‘It’s completely untrue.’
It comes after stars of the show were said to be livid when they learned Vanessa has continued living with her boyfriend Rory McCall as the latest series is underway.
Some pro skaters have reportedly accused the show’s bosses of endangering their Covid-19 bubble by letting the dancer stay with her personal trainer beau.
Not happy: According to The Sun, some of the other professionals on the show are unimpressed and feel Joe has an unfair advantage over the other celebrities
It is claimed that other Dancing On Ice stars have been ordered to separate from their families to stop the spread of coronavirus amid strict safety rules.
A source told The Sun: ‘Many of us are livid, we have given up our families for months, and she’s carrying on as normal because everyone bangs on about how sexy she is. It feels like one rule for some and another for the rest of us.’
While another insider added: ‘We are being ultra-cautious about everything because we all want the series to be safe, but if Vanessa is living with her boyfriend that’s an obvious issue.’
But a production source told the publication that the show’s rules only require couples who are both contracted to the series to be separate for the series.
Livid: Some skaters have reportedly accused the show’s bosses of endangering their Covid-19 bubble by letting Vanessa stay with her boyfriend Rory McCall (pictured)