Posted by 
When Stephen Mulhern signed up to present the new series of Dancing On Ice, he probably didn’t anticipate he’d end up becoming a punching bag for one of the UK’s most famous boxers.
On Sunday night, Stephen made his debut as the new presenter of Dancing On Ice alongside Holly Willoughby, who returned to our screens following a prolonged absence.
The show itself largely went ahead without incident, but towards the end of the live broadcast, the Catchphrase host took part in a small skit with Ricky Hatton, in which the former world champion became his human mic stand.
While Ricky pretended to grow tired of Stephen, Holly urged the celebrity skater to “just hit him”. And “hit him” he did – much to the shock of viewers watching at home, many of whom speculated the blow may have been a little harder than intended…
Producer: “So Ricky, we need you to pretend to hit Stephen on the arm going into the break. Don’t overdo it though…”#DancingOnIce#DOIpic.twitter.com/U0zlsINoCV
— Rob Jeffries (@RobJeffries) January 14, 2024
Script probably says ‘Ricky Hatton gives Stephen Mulhern a gentle push’ … pic.twitter.com/0MrN0xgxWf
— Joe Gibney (@joegibney15) January 14, 2024
I bet Stephen Mulhern now has a dead arm after Ricky Hatton just clobbered him on #DancingOnIce 🤣🤣🤣 #RickyHatton#StephenMulhern#Boxingpic.twitter.com/km6PWuDUzf
— Keven law (@Kevenlaw) January 14, 2024
OMG! It looked like Ricky Hatton really walloped Stephen Mulhern then! #DancingOnIce
— Traylor Holmes (@TraylorHolmes) January 14, 2024
not ricky hatton decking stephen mulhern on live tele😭😭 #DancingOnIce
— paige (@blhtrixya) January 14, 2024
Ricky Hatton knocking down Stephen Mulhern, premium Sunday night telly
— Daniel (@NowYouveDummett) January 14, 2024
Not Ricky Hatton actually punching Stephen Mulhern #DancingOnIcepic.twitter.com/zuWX5QCNQE
— Kayla Saunders (@Michaela_Jane9) January 14, 2024
Not Ricky knocking out Stephen Mulhern on LIVE TV 😂😂 . Great to see a sense of fun being braught back into Dancing On Ice. Stephen is a great addition to the show 👏🏼#DancingOnIce
— Ryan Glendenning (@RyanTheSoapking) January 14, 2024
As if Ricky punched Stephen 😳😅#DancingOnIce
— SPARKYBOII 🏳️🌈 💪🏼🏋🏽♂️ (@marksparkyb85x) January 14, 2024
Hahaha Ricky 😅🤣 Stephen #DancingOnIce
— Katy Parkes (@KatyParkes) January 14, 2024
Ricky punching Stephen, I was not expecting that 😧 #DancingOnIce
— molls ⋆ ˳ * ✩ (@mllrbcc) January 14, 2024
Ouchie.
Stephen later laughed off the incident on X (formerly Twitter), joking to his followers that he was “already starting to bruise”.
I’m already starting to bruise! #DancingOnIcehttps://t.co/wNJbILciAO
— Stephen Mulhern (@StephenMulhern) January 14, 2024
At the end of Sunday’s live show, it was revealed that Ricky had landed in the bottom two, and will perform in the first skate-off of the series next week, after which the judges will decide who to save.
Stephen took over as host of Dancing On Ice from Phillip Schofield, who resigned from ITV last year after admitting to having lied to producers at This Morning about an affair with a younger colleague on the show.
Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday night at 6.30pm on ITV1.
