Dancing on Ice is a British television show presented by Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley , in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The series started on the 14 January 2006 and ended on 9 March 2014. Originally titled Skating with Celebrities , the show was renamed following the failure of ITV's celebrity oriented 2005 summer schedule. Dancing on Ice is frequently compared to the BBC 's Strictly Come Dancing . The BBC aired a Strictly Come Dancing special entitled Strictly Ice Dancing at Christmas in 2004 which was won by England goalkeeper David Seaman (who was a contestant in Series 1). ITV's show was given a January premier amidst network doubts about its viability but became a surprise hit in Britain, where it became the third highest rated television show of 2006. It attained an impressive thirteen million viewers for the final in March. Britain's best-known ice-skating duo and former Olympic champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean help to train the aspiring dancers, and also appear throughout the show with comments and advice. Head Coach Karen Barber also trains the skaters for the live show. [ 1 ] Since the beginning, Torvill and Dean have opened every episode with a performance, with the exception of the second, third and fourth shows of the fourth series, when Torvill performed alone due to Dean's recovery from a shoulder operation. In 2012 they performed less regularly. During the shows first two series it