Dancing On Ice bosses have confirmed that celebrity contestant Kye Whyte will be absent from this week’s live show due to an injury.
The Olympic BMX racer has been forced to pull out of the show after falling during his training.
A spokesperson for the ITV show said: “During rehearsals for this Sunday’s show, Kye fell on the ice and sustained an injury, a sprain to his knee.
“He will therefore not perform in this weekend’s show.”
Kye added: “It’s an unfortunate accident. I’ve trained and worked hard with Tippy to perform this weekend. For me, as an athlete, I’m used to stuff like this happening where you get injured and can’t compete.
“I’m more sad for Tippy, she’s worked hard so not being able to skate is obviously upsetting. We both really wanted to do this number, it’s a cool performance and we put a lot of effort into it.
“I was so happy and excited for everyone when they skated last weekend. I was watching and couldn’t wait to skate this Sunday. I’ll be there cheering everyone on!”
This week’s Dancing On Ice live show will be a film-themed special, with Kye and his skating partner Tippy Packard having planned to perform a routine inspired by The Matrix.
Kye made his debut on the ice in the first week of live shows, coming in fourth place of six for his performance, which saw him entering the rink on a BMX bike before beginning his skating.
The silver medallist is the second of this year’s stars to miss a week of live shows due to an injury, following former S Club 7 singer Rachel Stevens.
After taking a week out to recover from her wrist injury, Rachel and Brendyn Hatfield will perform together for the first time on Sunday night, delivering a routine to Lady Marmalade from the film Moulin Rouge!.
Happy Mondays star Bez also missed out on a week of training when he tested positive for Covid, but has now recovered, and will be performing his second routine this weekend.
Last week saw rugby star Ben Foden becoming the first contestant to be eliminated, after a skate-off against Lorraine presenter Ria Hebden.
Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday at 6.30pm on ITV.
