Joey Essex left fans in shock as he appeared on Dancing On Ice on Sunday night after suffering a serious injury during rehearsals earlier in the week.
And the former TOWIE star also seemed to give his dance partner Vanessa Bauer quite a surprise when he bent over for a hickey at the end of her performance.
After a spate of romance rumours, he appeared to confirm the claims as they wrapped up – and planted a kiss on the pro’s lips.
But more hesitantly, Vanessa laughed and leaned away from Joey as she seemed confused by the gesture.
Joey suffered a nasty injury just a day earlier and took to Instagram to share a snap of his bandaged leg as he admitted he had “seen better days”.
Love is in the air: Joey Essex bent down to kiss his reluctant skating partner Vanessa Bauer during their LIVE Dancing On Ice performance on Sunday night
Ouch! Joey managed to make the ice despite sustaining a painful injury during a dress rehearsal for the show just a day earlier
Joey Essex shocked fans on Sunday night when he confidently skated onto the Dancing On Ice rink with partner Vanessa Bauer – just a day after suffering a nasty injury
But in an impressive and speedy recovery, he confidently skated with his partner Vanessa as the show’s Movie Week began.
And this week it’s not just the routine they need to nail down as the stars also had a judges challenge this week.
They must complete a freestyle jump with two feet off the ice during the exercise, with the panel encouraging them to “get creative”.
The contestants were all introduced at the start of the show, with Joey flashing a big smile and waving to the audience as he skated onto the ice.
The reality star showed that he was in shape and even took a little leap while holding on to Vanessa’s hips.
Judges Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Oti Mabuse and Ashley Banjo were back in the hot seats for week six of the competition, while hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield sat by the ice rink.
And for his performance, reality star Zac Efron channeled as he and Vanessa performed a High School Musical-themed routine.
Attempting the Judges’ Challenge jump, Joey managed to get both feet off the ice safely and put them back down with a slight wobble as he landed.
But it was the end of the live performance that got fans talking, as Joey leaned in to kiss Vanessa on the lips on the ice – while the brunette pulled away and laughed.
Walking towards the judges, the two revealed their routine had to be slightly adjusted due to Joey’s injury, which happened during a dress rehearsal earlier in the week.
Injuries, choreography improvements and kisses aside, the TV personality still managed to bag 32.5 points out of 40 for the well-executed performance.
And when the judges brought up his romantic moment, Joey laughed it off, saying, “First kiss on live TV huh?”
Opener: First on the ice, The Vivienne channeled Mary Poppins for the performance with partner Colin Grafton
Excellent! And with an impressive 26 points out of 40, all four judges gave it a high score of nine
Danger Zone: Next up was Darren Harriett and his partner Tippy Packard, who scored 28.5 out of 40 for his Top Gun-inspired performance for Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone
Livin’ it: The couple came into character as they both dressed in leather ensembles for the film’s performance
First on the ice was The Vivienne, who channeled Mary Poppins for the performance with her partner Colin Grafton.
And with an impressive 26 points out of 40, all four judges gave it a high score of nine.
Oti shared, “You look beautiful, you walked beautifully, love you!”, while Shirley repeated, “I absolutely loved it and I wish you would do it again.”
Next was Darren Harriett and his partner Tippy Packard, who scored 28.5 out of 40 for his Top Gun-inspired performance for Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone.
Ashley Banjo was the most genius of the judges as he gave the TV personality a 7.5 out of 10 while the other three judges gave a respectable 7 each.
Shirley noted that he had attempted the Judges’ Challenge but hadn’t quite hit it, stating “The jump was pretty small”.
While constructive criticism was voiced, Ashley called the performance of Darren, who found himself in the last two last week, “the cleanest yet”.
Dancing On Ice week 6 scoreboard
The Vivienne and Colin Grafton – 36 points out of 40
Carley Stenson and Mark Hanretty – 36 points out of 40
Nile Wilson and Olivia Smart – 35 out of 40 points
Siva Kaneswaran and Klabera Komini – 32.5 points out of 40
Joey Essex and Vanessa Bauer – 32.5 points out of 40
Mollie Gallagher and Sylvain Longchambon – 30 points out of 40
Darren Harriett and Tippy Packard – 28.5 points out of 40
Something strange? Next it was Mollie Gallagher and Sylvain Longchambon, looking to blast some supernatural activity when they took on a Ghostbusters-inspired performance
Not pleased: The Coronation Street actress admitted she was a little disappointed when she received a 7.5 from each judge, scoring 30 points overall
He’s in the building! Later, Siva Kaneswaran channeled the iconic Elvis Presley when he performed with his partner Klabera Komini
Back in shape: The Wanted singer’s routine came after he was forced to take a week off from the show last week and came back to be fit for this Sunday’s performance
High Score: And after the retro performance, Siva scored 32.5 out of 40 as he received a mix of 8 and 8.5 points from the judges
Next it was Mollie Gallagher and Sylvain Longchambon, looking to blast some supernatural activity when they took on a Ghostbusters-inspired performance.
The Coronation Street actress received a 7.5 from each judge, scoring 30 points overall.
But she appeared disappointed with the score as Shirley admitted she agreed and “expected more” from Mollie.
Later, Siva Kaneswaran channeled the iconic Elvis Presley when he performed with his partner Klabera Komini.
The Wanted singer’s routine came after he was forced to take a week off from the show last week, returning to be fit for this Sunday’s performance.
And after the retro performance, Siva scored 32.5 out of 40 as he received a mix of 8 and 8.5 points from the judges.
Carley Stenson and Mark Hanretty were next, with the former earning her highest score of the series when she tied 36 out of 40 with The Vivienna.
For a Toy Story-themed performance, the soap star and her partner dressed up as toy characters Woody and Jesse from the film series.
“It was so, so clean, it was like spotless. It was subtle and detailed, I think you guys are amazing,” Ashley said.
Toy Story: Carley Stenson and Mark Hanretty were next, with the former earning her highest score of the series when she tied with The Vivienna at 36 out of 40
Super Spy: Nile Wilson and Olivia Smart then took to the ice in a top-secret spy feat, dodging and jumping off laser beams as he walked across the rink
Strong Skater: Jane scored 35 out of 40 from the judges and noted that while his strong skating is nice to see, she was looking for more pair skating between the Olympian and Olivia
Nile Wilson and Olivia Smart then took to the ice in a top-secret spy feat, dodging and jumping off laser beams as he walked across the rink.
His jump in the Judges’ Challenge seemed to be one of the most creative, as Nile used his gymnastic skills for the move.
Jane scored 35 out of 40 from the judges and noted that while his strong skating is nice to see, she was looking for more pairs skating between the Olympian and Olivia.
After all contestants had performed, Ashley brought his dance crew Diversity onto the ice for an energetic performance.
And for the first time since joining the show five years ago, the judge even took to the ice himself while demonstrating his skating moves.
While fellow dancer Perri Kiely even performed a backflip on the ice, he showed his skills.
DANCING ON ICE 2023: MEET THE PARTICIPANTS
PATSY PALMER
AGE: 50
PROFESSION: Actress and DJ
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I’ve turned down before because I was scared, but when I turned 50 I made a pact to get out of my confrontational zone. ‘
EKIN SU CULCULOGLU
AGE: 28
PROFESSION: Love Island star
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I have amazing news for you. I’m so excited I can’t wait to get on the ice and skate. Stay tuned and see you on the ice.’
MOLLIE GALLAGHER
AGE: 24
PROFESSION: Actress
WHAT DID YOU SAID?: “I don’t have the best coordination, so people laugh when they find out, but I don’t want to spend my life saying, ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do this. “
Joey Essex
AGE: 32
PROFESSION: Ex-TOWIE star
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I’m so excited. I wanted something structured in my life that was more serious than what I usually do.’
CARLEY STENSON
AGE: 36
PROFESSION: Actress and West End star
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I’m so excited to be able to learn how to dance on ice! I’m scared but can’t wait – I just want to make the most of this whole experience.”
SIVA KANESWARAN
AGE: 33
PROFESSION: Singer
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I want to learn to skate and make my family proud of me and put on a show for all to see.”
JOHANNES FASHANU
AGE: 60
PROFESSION: Former soccer player and expert
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I’m definitely going to win it. And that might be one of the scariest things I’ve ever signed up for, but I couldn’t be more up for the challenge!”
NILE WILSON
AGE: 26
PROFESSION: Olympic gymnast
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I haven’t skated much but I’m so excited for the opportunity. I’m so excited to get into this routine and feel like an athlete again.
JAMES LEE WILLIAM AKA THE VIVIENNE
AGE: 29
PROFESSION: Drag queen
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “To be the first drag artist to compete in one of the UK’s major reality competition shows is an honor and a huge step forward for queer representation on television.”
DARREN HARRIOT
PROFESSION: Comedian
AGE: 34
WHAT DID YOU SAID?: “I have huge feet, I can’t skate and I can’t dance. My family has already made bets – they’re making bets that I’ll fall in the first episode!”
MICHELLE HEATON
AGE: 43
PROFESSION: Singer
WHAT DID YOU SAY?: “I’ve always wanted to do it but I know the way I was 18 months ago I would never have been able to complete anything so I’m really very grateful ‘that I got it this year when I’m much stronger.’