Gemma Collins ‘threatened with legal action by Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner

Gemma Collins has reportedly been threatened with legal action by Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner amid their ongoing ‘bullying row’ reports The Sun.

The TOWIE star, 37, accused Jason, 47, of selling stories on her during a vitriolic exchange on Sunday night’s show.

And now Jason is said to be planning to take legal action over her alleged defamation of his character. 

Claim: Gemma Collins has reportedly been threatened with legal action by Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner amid their ongoing ‘bullying row’ reports The Sun 

Fury: The TOWIE star, 37, accused Jason, 47, of selling stories on her during a vitriolic exchange on Sunday night's show

Fury: The TOWIE star, 37, accused Jason, 47, of selling stories on her during a vitriolic exchange on Sunday night’s show

A source told the website: ‘Jason has made Gemma aware that he intends to sue her. He’s livid.

‘He insists that all he did was give an interview, where he was asked about lots of things, including Gemma.  

‘She’s very stressed about the idea of being sued and she wants the situation to die down so she can focus on her skating. This has become the biggest reality show war ever.’

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Jason and Gemma for comment. 

Spat: And now Jason is said to be planning to take legal action over her alleged defamation of his character with a source telling the website  'Jason has made Gemma aware that he intends to sue her. He's livid'

Spat: And now Jason is said to be planning to take legal action over her alleged defamation of his character with a source telling the website  ‘Jason has made Gemma aware that he intends to sue her. He’s livid’

This comes days after their exchange on the show, where the steely tongued judge awarded Gemma a paltry 3.0 for her routine.    

Gemma retorted: ‘Maybe if you didn’t sell stories on me, I wouldn’t be so upset this week, so take that.’

He said: ‘I know you were channelling Marilyn Monroe … There wasn’t any elegance like you were saying in the VT. She has to be elegant. She is a woman in control of her femininity. You were all over the place hun.

‘And as Ashley said, there’s not enough skating. This is your second skate now. You need to up the ante. We’re not going to see big lifts from you. We’re not going to get any impressive moves.’  

 Last week, he branded Gemma ‘lazy’ in an interview with The Sun.

Loggerheads: This comes days after their exchange on the show, where the steely tongued judge awarded Gemma a paltry 3.0 for her routine

Loggerheads: This comes days after their exchange on the show, where the steely tongued judge awarded Gemma a paltry 3.0 for her routine

He said: ‘I can always see who’s lazy. Gemma is lazy. She doesn’t look like her heart is in it at all. I do despair — at the state of our society today and also the entertainment industry.  

Sunday’s instalment of Dancing On Ice saw judge Jason branded ‘a bully’, with the show receiving 80 complaints after its transmission. 

Gemma stood up to Jason after he called her ‘more Anna Nicole Smith than Marilyn Monroe’ during her performance with partner Matt Evers.

Jason’s scathing remarks – which also come after Jason went to The Sun to badmouth  Gemma earlier in the week – were met with a wash of criticism on Twitter, with viewers calling for the talent show judge to be fired over it.  

Elsewhere, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom received a mixture of complaints, some aimed toward Jason and some toward Gemma.

Tongues wagging: Gemma retorted: 'Maybe if you didn't sell stories on me, I wouldn't be so upset this week, so take that'

Tongues wagging: Gemma retorted: ‘Maybe if you didn’t sell stories on me, I wouldn’t be so upset this week, so take that’

50 complaints objected to Gemma’s ‘outburst’, while 33 viewers objected to comments from the judges and presenters towards her. 

Meanwhile, Gemma was branded ‘unprofessional’ by Dancing On Ice host Holly Willoughby, amid claims she’d been napping on set and left the live show early because she was ‘bored’.             

As reports surfaced surrounding her behaviour, she went on to thank her fans for their support following a ‘tough week’ on Dancing On Ice.

Alongside an Instagram video of host Piers Morgan praising her on Monday, the TOWIE star penned: ‘Thank you to everyone who supported me its been a tough week @thepiersmorgan @gmb #teamcollins …. #next …. #boring.’   

A source told The Sun: ‘Gemma was furious backstage — but so was Jason. They’re both very strong-minded so there was no chance either of them would back down after the show.   

Spat: Last week, he branded Gemma 'lazy' in an interview with The Sun

Spat: Last week, he branded Gemma ‘lazy’ in an interview with The Sun

‘Behind the scenes the atmosphere is even more toxic now… Two of the most prominent people on the show are at war.’ 

It has also been reported that Gemma is yet to receive an apology from Holly after she called the reality star ‘unprofessional’ during her DOI appearance.

Insisting she’s focusing on her stint, an insider told the publication: ‘Gemma hasn’t got an apology from Phil or Holly yet, but she’s happy to let it go and concentrate on the skating now.’  

MailOnline contacted representatives for Gemma, Jason and ITV for further comment. 

However, earlier that day American skater Matt, 42, confirmed Gemma had skipped most of her rehearsal sessions last week. 

During an interview on Heart Breakfast, he told hosts Jamie Theakston and Lucy Horobin: ‘First and foremost I will defend Jason, yeah. There wasn’t a lot of content, I didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time with her this week, so he was absolutely correct.   

‘Thursday a story came out saying she was a ‘disgrace to humanity’.

‘ITV came to us, as she was really upset by it, to say that it came from Jason himself. It sounds like [he has been selling stories on her].’    

A rep for Jason told MailOnline: ‘Jason did an interview to promote Dancing On Ice with The Sun last week. Within this interview he was asked about Gemma Collins and all the contestants. He gave his opinion. This interview was not done ‘behind ITV’s back’. ITV were fully aware the interview was running.’

An ITV spokesperson said, in response to this: ‘To avoid any further speculation and untruths around this, Gemma’s comments were in relation to an interview Jason gave with a newspaper at the weekend. There is nothing more to it.’

Of the complaints received, an Ofcom spokeswoman said: ‘We will assess these complaints before deciding whether or not to investigate.’  

Leggy: Elsewhere, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom received a mixture of complaints, some aimed toward Jason and some toward Gemma

Leggy: Elsewhere, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom received a mixture of complaints, some aimed toward Jason and some toward Gemma

 

 

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