16 January 2023 , 15:52
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Dancing On Ice professional Vanessa Bauer was forced to have her hair cut off ahead of the show's launch for safety reasons.
The star, who has been partnered up with Joey Essex, was just seconds from a potentially dangerous situation with Sylvain Longchambon's skate during rehearsals.
As the pair practised an incredibly daring move, she very nearly got her long ponytail twisted up in the blade just hours before the opening routine.
Dan Whiston, the show's Associate Creative Director, told The Sun: "Just when we thought we had sorted out our set issues for the opening number, seconds before we were about to go live for the show, professional skater Vanessa Bauer had to have an emergency haircut, by the side of the ice.
Joey Essex and Vanessa Bauer skate together for their first performance on the live shows (Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)"The hair team had to cut her long ponytail as it nearly caught under Sylvain's skates when performing their upside-down spin. But when it was lights, camera, action, the team delivered a show-stopping performance."
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After her hair cut, she had to head straight back onto the ice with Joey for their first skate together.
According to Dan, the pair had a "tough week", with plenty of painful falls, but added that it all came together in the end.
Vanessa had to have her long hair cut off just moments before she set foot on the ice (Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)The insider said that Joey delivered a "reem performance".
Joey and Vanessa are joined on the show by Patsy Palmer, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, The Vivienne, Michelle Heaton, Siva Kaneswaran and others.
Speaking about last year's Love Island winner, Holly Willoughby said that Ekin-Su delivered the "raciest" performance seen on the show in a "long time".
Dan Whiston, the show's associate creative director spoke about the incident (ITV)However, it wasn't enough to save her from the dreaded skate-off with her figure skating partner Brendyn Hatfield.
Ekin revealed that she had been ill during the run up to the show and had only just recovered.
When she was asked how she felt being in the skate off she said: "Gutted. I am just sad. It is fine, just gotta keep going."
Viewers were also not too impressed with the result, with many claiming the votes had been rigged.
"@ekinsuofficial you're in bottom for next week not happy all my votes went on your #DancingOnIce think we need a recount," one fan wrote.
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Vanessa had to return to the ice just moments after her pony tail was cut (Mike Marsland/WireImage)
TV bosses said that Joey gave a 'reem' performance (Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror .
Another added: "Hot @ekinsuofficial was wow and didn't deserve to be in the skate off #DancingOnIce".
Gymnast Nile Wilson is the bookies' favourite to win the show after he pulled off a very impressive performance.
The second batch of stars will take to the ice for the first time on Sunday at 6.30 on ITV.