Matt Richardson has been revealed as Rufus Hound’s replacement on Dancing On Ice.
The comedian, 29, will be taking to the ice on Sunday to replace his fellow funny man after Rufus, 41, was forced to quit when he tested positive for Covid twice.
ITV confirmed on Wednesday that Matt will be joining the show alongside pro skater Vicky Ogden.
Joining the show: Matt Richardson has been announced as Rufus Hound’s replacement on Dancing On Ice and will be part of the line-up from Sunday night
Confirming the news, a spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that following a positive test result, Rufus Hound is unable to return to Dancing On Ice this weekend.
‘Although Rufus and his partner Robin’s time on the ice has been all too brief, they can be truly proud of their achievements. We thank them for all their hard work and commitment to the show.’
‘With the departure of Rufus Hound and Robin Johnstone, a new couple will step into the main cast with comedian Matt Richardson and his pro-skater partner Vicky Ogden joining the line up from this weekend.’
Matt took to Instagram after the news broke to share a first glimpse at his skills on the ice, with the comic looking a little wary as he moved around.
End of the road: Rufus was forced to quit the show following two positive Covid tests (pictured with pro partner Robin Johnstone during the show’s launch episode on January 17)
He penned: ‘Is that… is that Christopher Dean? No, just me guys being so amazing. This is good enough to be on the show in 3 days, right?’
The comedian also shared well wishes from pals on his Instagram Stories, penning over one from pro partner Vicky: ‘Can’t wait to skate with Ogden, she’s almost as good as me’.
Rufus announced in a video message via his Twitter account that he has sadly had to withdraw from the Dancing On Ice 2021 on Wednesday evening.
He had already missed two weeks of the competition after coming in to contact with someone who was carrying the virus and having to self-isolate.
Teaser: Matt shared a glimpse of himself acting wary on the ice to Instagram on Wednesday after news of him joining the show broke
Giving it his best: The comedian joked about his skating skills as he looked forward to making his TV skating debut in just three days time
Bring it on! He also shared several supportive messages to Stories, including one from pro partner Vicky as he joked ‘she’s almost as good as me’
However at the end of his mandatory quarantine period, he tested positive himself.
Rufus tweeted: ‘I will no longer be participating in @DancingOnIce. COVID is – as I’m sure we’re all well aware – a b**tard and sadly the world isn’t short of those.’
In an accompanying video from the comedian, Rufus admitted his disappointment as he said: ‘Hello it’s Rufus here, I’m going to keep this as brief as possible…
‘Unfortunately having coming into contact with someone who had COVID and then isolating, it transpired that I myself had COVID. So I have dealt with that and quarantined and the like.
‘Unfortunately, the rules in Dancing On Ice are completely… very cut and dry, very strict because they need to keep everyone on the production as safe as possible.
Axed! It was revealed on Wednesday that Rufus will play no further part in the current series of Dancing On Ice after testing positive for COVID-19 for a second time
‘So it seemed like when I was just quarantining there might be a window of opportunity for me to get back to the show… A window I now know doesn’t exist.’
Continuing on, Rufus admitted he had been excited to achieve more with Robin with the aim of making their performances ‘as crazy as possible.’
He said: ‘That’s it. That’s the reason I’m not on Dancing On Ice… is the health and safety team said that’s something they can’t allow. And that sucks.
‘It sucks, because I got to spend a big chunk of the last six months with Robin Johnstone who has been a tremendous pal throughout all this, a brilliant ice dance teacher and a human sunshine.
‘I was ready for all sorts of mad ideas about things we would do, it’s one of the things that sucks… We could have dressed as battle dwarves from Dungeons and Dragons…
In his own words: The comedian took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to announce in a video message that he has sadly had to withdraw from the ITV skating competition
Unexpected: Continuing on, Rufus admitted he had been excited to achieve more with Robin with the aim of making their performances ‘as crazy as possible’
‘That was going to be one of the things, or for Valentine’s Day, do an ice rave to only love will set you free.
‘We just really were setting out to make it all as crazy as possible, and now we won’t get a chance to do that. So, for the effort Robin put into trying to make it as good as possible for me, to make me as good as possible at ice dancing, sucks.’
It’s hoped that when the full cast reunite for the series’ final, Rufus will be able to be back in the studio with everyone.
An ITV spokeswoman has explained to MailOnline: ‘We have stringent protocols to ensure the health and safety of all our contributors and staff which are routinely monitored and updated to reflect government guidelines.’
‘Following the guidance on isolation, a positive Covid-19 diagnosis for any of our cast at this stage would mean two weeks missed and sadly an end to their time on the show. It has always been the case that no celebrity skater has missed more than one public vote.’
Rufus is not the first star who has had to pull out of the show, with Denise Van Outen, 46, who was skating with pro Matt Evers, 44, leaving after dislocating her shoulder.
She was replaced by gymnast Amy Tinkler, 21, who will skated with pro Joe Johnson last Sunday, leaving some fans to tip her as the show’s winner after her debut.
New rules: The announcement of his departure comes after Dancing On Ice informed all the skaters that if they test positive for Covid-19 they will immediately be axed from the ITV show