Andy Akinwolere loses the skate-off to Heidi Range and becomes the first celebrity to be voted off Dancing On Ice

'I'm gutted': Andy Akinwolere loses the skate-off to Heidi Range and becomes the first celebrity to be voted off Dancing On Ice

By Georgina Littlejohn

Last updated at 11:14 PM on 8th January 2012


He only made his debut performance on the show just a couple of hours earlier.

But the party was over too quickly for TV presenter Andy Akinwolere who was voted off Dancing On Ice tonight.

Andy, 29, and his partner Maria Filippov left the show after going head-to-head in a skate-off with Sugababe Heidi Range.

Gutted: TV presenter Andy Akinwolere looked quite upset as he and partner Maria Filippov were voted off the first Dancing On Ice show

And after he and Maria were handed flowers from mentors and Olympic gold medalists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, he told host Phillip Schofield: 'I'm gutted.

'We put so much into that but it wasn't our day, so it's cool.'

Even Dean was disappointed with the result and told them, 'I am gutted with you.'

Last standing: Andy and Maria (R) and Heidi and Andrei (L) face the skate off after Mark Rhodes and Frankie were saved by the public

We did it! Mark Rhodes hugged partner Frankie after hearing that they had been saved

And Maria added: 'It was sweet and short but I loved every minute of it.'

Andy and Heidi, who scored 14 and 12.5 point respectively, were the last two standing and had to skate their first routine again in an attempt to be saved and skate another week.

But it was not up to the public to decide who was staying, but the judges, with Louis first up and deciding the save Heidi, as he said her performance was more polished and refined.

Awaiting their fate: Andy and Maria learn they are in the bottom two

Live to fight another day: Heidi and her partner Andrei looked relieved when they found out they'd been saved

Katarina Witt chose to save Andy because she thought he was the better dancer on the night.

But it was down to Robin Cousins to have the deciding vote and her decided to save Heidi, which meant Andy was on his way home.

One more chance: Heidi and Andrei dance for survival as they took to the ice for the second time tonight

You and me, baby! Maria and Andy throw admiring glances to each other during their routine which they danced for a second time

Earlier their routine was danced to Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera which earned them 12 points, but Louis thought Andy's moves were 'sloppy', which ultimately lead to him being voted off.

This week, seven of the 15 celebrities made their debut on the ice, and next week, the remaining eight will battle it out to stay in the show and avoid being the second Dancing On Ice casualty.

Tense: Robin Cousins had the deciding decision who to save - and decided to keep Heidi and Andrei in the show