Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu was getting down to business on Thursday when she was spotted training with Dancing On Ice partner Brendyn Hatfield.
The former Love Island star, 28, is preparing to take on another celebrity in this Sunday’s Skate-Off in a bid for her spot in the competition after receiving the fewest votes during the launch show.
She appears to have brushed aside the controversy surrounding her performance, which has been dubbed the show’s “sexiest performance ever” and prompted over 100 Ofcom complaints.
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu brushes aside complaints from Dancing On Ice Ofcom as she returns to rehearsals with partner Brendyn Hatfield – before appearing in Skate-Off
Ekin-Su trained for the show, donning a pair of bright red leggings with a gray sweatshirt that had “Paris” printed on the front.
Her brunette tresses stayed in a straight style as she opted for a natural palette of bronzed makeup.
While partner Brendyn wore gray pants with a black sweatshirt as he led the star across the ice.
She appeared to be working hard during practice, gliding across the ice on one foot and lifting the other in the air.
Tough: She appeared to be working hard during practice, gliding across the ice on one foot and lifting the other in the air
Casual: While training for the show, Ekin-Su wore a pair of bright red leggings with a gray sweatshirt that had ‘Paris’ printed on the front
Beauty: Her brunette tresses stayed in a straight style as she opted for a natural palette of bronzed makeup
Ekin-Su sparked controversy with her performance during Sunday night’s opening show of the ice skating competition, when she reenacted her famous Love Island crawling scene.
And she gave 100% to the routine, with host Holly Willoughby even calling the routine the show’s “sexiest dance ever.”
But the performance didn’t garner quite the reaction it hoped for as Ofcom received complaints from the public after episode 112.
Simple Look: While wearing gray pants with a black sweatshirt, partner Brendyn led the star across the ice
Practice makes perfect: The pair practiced a series of lifts while perfecting the performance ahead of next Sunday’s skate-off
Many were quick to love Ekin-Su’s sequined jumpsuit, which was a replica of the one worn by Britney Spears in her Toxic music video – which the reality star danced to.
While the actress also crawled across the ice during the performance, an ode to the famous Love Island scene in which she crawled across the villa’s terrace to kiss islander Jay Younger behind partner Davide Sanclimenti’s back.
The sultry routine also saw her lying on her back and being pulled up into the arms of partner Brendyn with a bevy of animated facial expressions.
Routine: The controversy came after she re-enacted her famous Love Island crawling scene
Action Plan: After finding out they were skate-off, Brendyn explained to the judges and hosts that he and Ekin-Su would be “practicing hard” all week
Complaints: Ekin-Su sparked controversy with her performance during Sunday night’s opening show of the skating competition – which was dubbed the show’s “sexiest performance ever”.
Ekin-Su and Brendyn were marked by the judges with 21.5 points in the middle of the ranking.
But while they agreed the star certainly had sex appeal, they were hoping for a little more from the performance.
“It was very sexy. But what I want more of is skating,” said judge Jayne Torvill. Ashley agreed as he said, “Skate alone without holding on to Brendyn, show us what you can do.”
Busy: Brendyn and Ekin-Su appeared to be hard at work for training while maintaining their focus
Working on it: When providing feedback on the previous performance, the judges stated that they wanted to see more skating and less Ekin-Su holding on to her partner
Dancing On Ice moments that sparked Ofcom complaints
1. Jason Gardner’s feud with Karen Barber: Ex-judge Jason sparked 3,000 Ofcom complaints when he told the former head coach: ‘Karen, if your opinion counted you’d still be on the panel’.
2. Rufus Hound quits: 341 viewers complained to Ofcom after the comedian launched an attack on the government’s handling of free school meals during the 2020 series
3. Holly Willoughby wore THIS dress: In the same episode, Holly sparked 52 complaints from viewers about her plunging pink dress, which some felt was inappropriate for the family show
4. Rita Ora performs after breaking rules: 78 viewers spoke out about Rita’s appearance in the 2021 series, which came after she was caught breaking the Covid-19 lockdown rules
5. Gemma Collins’ feud with Jason Gardiner: 83 viewers complained to Ofcom when the TOWIE star accused the judge of being ‘a bully’ during the 2019 series
Many viewers also took to social media to brand the routine “not appropriate” for the family show, which will air before the tipping point.
But the performance was a hit with Ekin-Su’s friend Davide, who sat in the audience and teased that he couldn’t wait to take her home.
Later in the show, the public vote revealed the Love Island star received the lowest number of public votes and will skate off alongside another star on next week’s show.
Something else? Many viewers also took to social media to brand their previous routine as “inappropriate” for the family show, which airs before the watershed