21 January 2024 , 16:30
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Dancing On Ice's Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern once shared a kiss.
The former Ministry of Mayhem presenters have now reunited to front Dancing On Ice following Phillip Schofield being axed by the network over his "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague. But Holly and Stephen go way back, over two decades.
But an unearthed clip of the pair uploaded to TikTok revealed that there was perhaps more to the pair's relationship than meets the eye. In the clip from their time on the show between 2004 and 2006, Stephen, 46, gives Holly, 42, a gift.
He explains: "Here's the deal, if you open it you must wear it for the whole show." Agreeing to the terms, Holly rips open the present to find a green Christmas hat with mistletoe attached to it.
Holly Willoughby appeared on Ministry of Mayhem with Stephen (Instagram)A gleeful Holly announced: "Hurray for me! I can kiss all of the boys in the world all of the time." She then sings: "Tis the season to kiss Holly fa la la la la" to the tune of Deck the Halls, but when her fellow presenter kisses her on the lips she objects: "No! Stephen, you don't count!"
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He argues: "What do you mean I don't count? Whoever you are under the mistletoe with you must kiss," kissing her again before declaring: "Happy Christmas!" Joking in response: "Don't wear my lips out, I am going to be kissing Anthony from Blue soon."
But Stephen kisses her again, and then two more times later in the show - making a total of five smooches over the course of the Christmas special.
Stephen was seen planting a kiss on Holly's lips (Instagram)Fed up with her co-star's antics, Holly finally pulls off the hat, telling Stephen: "Right, that does it! I am taking this off - and you are definitely on the naughty list." Holly and Stephen have left viewers amazed with their on-screen relationship, with some claiming "it's meant to be."
Giving their verdict on Stephen's full time presenting role, one fan wrote: "Stephen Mulhern is smashing this, how can anyone not love him, he's funny AF #DancingOnIce," whilst a second added: "You wouldn't have got Philip Schofield doing that funny opening to Ricky Hatton's routine.
Another reason why Stephen Mulhern is such a vast improvement as co-host. #DancingOnIce." A third also noted: "Stephen & Holly have always been a great pair together. I remember them on Saturday morning kids tv #DancingOnIce."
When Holly and Stephen were officially unveiled as the new presenting duo, ITV's Head of Entertainment Commissioning, Katie Rawcliffe, gushed: "Holly and Stephen are two of our best-loved presenters, so reuniting them twenty years after they first appeared on screen together to host Dancing on Ice marks the start of an exciting year for the show.
"Celebrating 20 years since they first worked together on Ministry of Mayhem, Willoughby and Mulhern will preside over the action on the high-octane skating show as this year's celebrities compete to become champion of the ice."