Dancing on Ice's Holly Willoughby gives Stephen Mulhern special welcome as she returns to TV

Ricky and Robin are going to be in next week's skate off. Ricky said he was having a fabulous time and that he was improving as time went on. "You should have saw me a few weeks ago, I should never have been here," he laughed. He vowed to make everyone smile next week.

It comes after Willoughby revealed the first couple saved from next week's skate off was Amber and Simon. The next couple safe was Roxy and Sylvain. Also staying in the competition are Greg and Vanessa. The next couple through were Ryan and Amani. Willoughby revealed the final safe couple was Hannah and Andy.

The Dancing on Ice professionals were met with standing ovations and cheers from the audience after closing the show with a wow-factor performance. "They're good," Stephen Mulhern gushed before he then went to greet members of the audience. Lucy Mecklenburgh was sat watching her fiancé Ryan Thomas and she said she was pleased her nerves had passed now. Adam Thomas laughed about how his brother had set his sights on beating him, as he had got to week seven in Strictly.

Stephen Mulhern made another joke about the Ricky Hatton "hit" as Dancing on Ice returned after the break. He jested: "You better keep him away from me backstage." Willoughby was left in giggles as she promised she would keep the former professional boxer away from him.

Ricky Hatton playfully pretended to punch Stephen Mulhern. In his typical humorous fashion, Mulhern dropped to the floor. Cheeky Holly Willoughby looked back and cheered when she saw her co-star had dropped to the floor following the hilarious encounter.

The six celebrities performing tonight have already shown off their best moves. All of the results are in and Ryan Thomas was the top performer on the night.

Willoughby grilled the stars over their dances on the ice. "Amani has worked so hard," Thomas responded to Willoughby, praising his skater for getting him up to scratch.

Amber Davies admitted she hadn't slept for a week. "Any advice to next week's contestant, don't be so hard on yourself," she said. The West End star - who was named the early favourite to win by bookies - confessed she had been really out of her comfort zone on the ice.

Willoughby had kind words too for former boxing star Ricky Hatton. The former boxer made a few boxing jokes as he compared the ice to getting in the ring. He said: "That was a fight tonight for me. I've got through it with no one hitting me and not falling on my backside."

Dancing on Ice scores

Ryan and Amani 26.5

Amber and Simon 25.0

Greg and Vanessa J 24.5

Roxy and Sylvain 20.0

Hannah and Andy 19.5

Ricky H and Robin 12.5

Ryan Thomas topped the leaderboard with his first skating show. He had all the drama with his skating performance with Amani Fancy. They turned up the heat with their dance to Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon, with flames lighting up their moves.

All of the judges had some high praise for the actor when he took to the ice. "You just made me smile," Chris said. "It was phenomenal for week one. It was a bit rough around the edges but I think you can become a shining star on this show."

Ahead of his performance, Thomas said his confidence had been knocked when he had dropped his skating professional in practice. The caring star was worried about her safety. "They put your life in your hands," he said.

Scores

Ashley 6.5

Oti 7

Jayne 6.5

Chris 6.5

Holly Willoughby playfully scolded her friend Stephen Mulhern. He had introduced Ryan Thomas saying he shot to fame on one of his favourite shows. "You told me this was one of your favourite shows," Willoughby told her co-host. Mulhern then was quick to correct himself: "One of my second favourite shows."

Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern did a mini-Bushtucker trial inspired by I'm A Celebrity. Their ITV co-star Josie Gibson made her debut on Dancing on Ice to introduce the competition - and bring the pair a nasty drink back from the jungle. Gibson presented her friends with vomit fruit drinks and they couldn't say no! Willoughby and Mulhern knocked the drinks back but they were left with moustaches from the drink's froth. Mulhern joked he couldn't see what everyone was complaining about when doing the I'm A Celebrity jungle.

SClub 7 Hannah Spearritt went for an inside outside flip with her partner Andy Buchanan as they skated to Break Free by Ariane Grande. The singing superstar looked fabulous in a navy sequinned jumpsuit. "Well done for doing such difficult lifts," Jayne praised her.

She added: "We need to see more of the basic skating. It is improving but you could do more." Giving the highest marks, Oti was impressed with the pop princess and her moves on the ice. However, she felt that perhaps her nerves had held her back.

Ahead of her performance, the Dancing on Ice star celebrated her time as SClub 7 for being one of the most important times of her life. The star now has spoken openly about her devastation over ex and former SClub 7 star Paul Cattermole's death last year.

"It is one of those precious chapters of my life," she said. "Me and Paul grew up together and he was part of the band. When Paul died it was hard. It's been a challenging year. Things will never be the same again."

Scores

Ashley 5

Oti 6

Jayne 4

Chris 4.5

Holly Willoughby was supported by her celebrity pals as she returned to the spotlight. Many shared kind words of encouragement on social media. Abbey Clancy posted beneath Willoughby's Instagram saying: "Shine bright gorgeous" Nicole Appleton also shared her support for ITV's star. She wrote: "There she is!! You look stunning!! Can't wait!" Former EastEnders actor Patsy Palmer added: "Good luck beautiful."

Love Island bombshell Amber Davies vowed her aim was to "beat ex-boyfriend" Kem Cetinay with her performance on Dancing on Ice. The West End star was in her element as she danced with her partner Simon Sénécal on the ice rink.

Having just wrapped up her performance on the ice, the actor said it was one of her favourite moments of life so far as Holly Willoughby gushed over her "beautiful" performance. So far she has the highest score of the night.

Judge Jayne congratulated the star on her spiral, saying it was the best she had seen in awhile. Oti predicted the former Love Island star would be a "super star". It was praise all round with Ashley saying they were a great pairing.

Scores

Ashley 6.5

Oti 6.5

Jayne 6

Chris 6

Former professional boxer Ricky Hatton was determined to put on a knockout performance with his skating professional dancer Robin Johnstone. The sports star threw a few punches as part of his dance moves as they got their groove on to iconic boxing movie Rocky's theme tune.

Hatton joked it was time to start a fight with the judges following the scores. "Get the gloves out for these three," he jested. Despite the low scores, Mabuse gave him great praise for the storytelling. Jayne said: "From day one to what you can now, it may not be the best at the moment but it's such an improvement you should be proud of yourself."

The judges were all in agreement that Hatton was the most improved skater since he had first made his debut on the ice. Hatton was not disheartened and no doubt he will come out fighting with his next Dancing on Ice performance.

Scores

Ashley 3

Oti 3

Jayne 3

Chris 3.5

Holly Willoughby let viewers know they can only vote online this year - a huge change to the show as people can no longer vote on the telephone. But she was quick to sell the bonuses saying that it was completely free so she urged everyone to vote for their favourites. Only six of the celebrities will compete on tonight's ITV show.

Roxy Shahidi and Sylvain Longchambon performed some great moves including Longchambon spinning Shahidi around his head while they were skating. They skated across the ice to Grace's You Don't Own Me. The soap star said she was doing the show to get out of her comfort zone.

Oti reassured the actor that her first appearance on the ice was fab. "You can be really really proud of that," she said. "You have somewhere to work to. You had a beautiful, sultry performance." The dancer said she would like to see her shoulders go down.

Scores

Ashley 5

Oti 5

Jayne 5

Chris 5

Greg Rutherford skated around the ice with Vanessa Bauer to Don't Stop Me Now. They left the judges stunned with their impressive lift that they had worked into the dance - something that hadn't been seen on the ice here before.

Judge Chris heaped on the praise for the pair for performing a difficult lift. "There is no stopping you," he joked. "What really impressed me was the leap of faith... For you to catch her." However, he gave one criticism saying Rutherford needed to bend his knees more because he is so tall.

Mabuse said she was looking forward to seeing the artistic side of Rutherford because he is very athletic because of his sporting history.

Scores:

Ashley 5.5

Oti 6.5

Jayne 6.5

Chris 6

Looking fabulous in her silver number, Holly Willoughby looked dazzling as she stepped into the limelight once again. As she made her introduction, she said: "Thank you everyone." She shared her delight to be hosting the "greatest show on ice" alongside her longtime friend Stephen Mulhern.

The friends were in great company and having a fabulous time on the ice. Willoughby gave Mulhern a sweet introduction saying: "Can we just say a huge welcome to Stephen Mulhern." They go way back, having starred together for the first time on children's TV in 2004.

Holly Willoughby has returned to TV for the first time since she quit This Morning after 14 years not long after she became the target of an alleged kidnap and murder. Full of excitement to be back in the showbiz spotlight, she shared a photograph in a sparkling silver dress - perfect for her first TV appearance since the drama. She wrote: "Dancing on Ice series 16! … Let’s do this 1 sequin at a time."