Dancing On Ice’s Antony Cotton’s skating partner ‘thought she killed him’ during nightmare rehearsal accident
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Antony Cotton has confirmed he will be returning to Dancing On Ice on Sunday after fracturing several ribs in training.
Dancing partner Brandee Malto was unharmed but Antony was rushed to the hospital, where he discovered he had fractured several ribs – Brandee fearing she had ‘killed’ her partner in the incident.
Appearing on with This Morning on Friday, he told hosts Eammon Holmes and Ruth Langsford: ‘I’ve never in my career to call in sick.’
Brandee has revealed that she thought she had ‘killed him’ during the fall because he didn’t appear to be breathing.
The 42-year-old Coronation Street star has revealed how he lost his balance during training with Brandee on Wednesday (January 31), seeing the pair both fall backwards on the ice.
Describing the accident, Antony said: ‘The worst part was that I couldn’t breathe.’
More: This Morning
He also described his instinct to protect himself and his dancing partner during the fall.
‘I cradled around Brandee so that my head was up,’ he said on Friday’s show.
He said: ‘It was horrendous pain and I’ve got pain killers’ before adding ‘I ain’t calling sick.’
In a previous statement Antony said: ‘On Wednesday, Brandee and I were training for this week’s show when we lost our balance and both fell backwards onto the ice.
‘Luckily, Brandee was uninjured but I was taken to hospital where I discovered I had fractured a couple of ribs, front and back.
More: This Morning
‘I’d like to thank the staff at Silver Blades ice rink in Widnes, the doctor and nurse at The Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, and Brandee, who never left my side throughout.
‘But the show must go on and as such, we are going to do our best to continue in the Dancing On Ice competition this Sunday. Hopefully the painkillers and sequins will see us through.’
He isn’t the first Dancing On Ice contestant to be rushed to hospital this year, with Max Evans partner Ale Izquierdo also being attended to after a lift gone wrong.
An ITV spokesperson said: ‘Antony fell on the ice during training and as a precaution was taken to a nearby hospital. He has since been released and is now resting ahead of the live show this weekend.’
Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday ITV at 6pm. This Morning airs 10.30am weekdays on ITV.
