Jason Gardiner says Dancing on Ice judges are best ever

Dancing On Ice's Jason Gardiner has said this is the first year the show's judging panel has felt "solid".

Gardiner will appear alongside former Olympic skating champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

The show's former coaching pair will be joined by Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo.

Gardiner was on the figure skating programme's judging panel during its original run from 2006 until 2014, apart from one year.

Gardiner said: "What feels great is that for the first time the panel feels solid, everybody that's on it is an expert in their own right and have incredible experience that they are going to bring to the panel and into the show.

"I think (before) it was missing people that really had an understanding or an actual experience in dance."

Gardiner declined to say who exactly he was referring to.

Previous Dancing On Ice judges included former competitive figure skaters Robin Cousins and Karen Barber, but the show also saw several guest judges take over during the show.

The show will return in January after a four years off air, and it will again be presented by Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

The This Morning presenters even got to nominate celebrities to take part in the show, with Schofield saying it is having a complete "reboot".

"It's not a relaunch, or a revamp - it's fundamentally different to the way we did it before.

"It's all the things I've wanted it to be."

The celebrities taking to the ice this year include Love Island winner Kem Cetinay, former Bake Off champion Candice Brown, singer Cheryl Baker and soap stars Brooke Vincent and Antony Cotton.

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