Dancing On Ice will be returning for another series

ITV have confirmed that popular ice skating programme Dancing On Ice will be returning for another series next year. The news comes as the current series, the first after a four year break, has seen a high number of viewers tuning in.

This year's Dancing On Ice saw a change from previous series with ice skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean moving from mentors to the head judges role, whilst Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby returned as presenters.

The programme is broadcast live from a brand new home with two state of the art ice rinks at Bovingdon Airfield, and has become a hit with viewers across the country.

In response to the exciting announcement ITV said, “The show's welcome back has exceeded our expectations and it's been fantastic to see the audience at home loving it. The recommission is a no brainer and it's brilliant for everyone involved to know it'll be back next year.”

We are now a few weeks into the competition, having recently said "goodbye" to Stephanie Waring after she was controversially voted off on Sunday. Torvill and Dean's decision to let Lemar stay did not go down well with fans who took to social media to vent their frustration.

'I don’t like Jayne and Christopher as judges they’re both going to agree with each other' said one viewer, with another saying, '@torvilleanddean should only be allowed one vote. They are ruining there own show #DancingOnIce'.

Torvill and Dean later explained their controversial decision on Lorraine saying, "It wasn't a hard decision for us because it is a skating competition and, stumbling aside, Lemar did more skating, and certainly on his own as well."

Chris then backed her up, adding, "When you look at the overall picture, Lemar could stand up by himself, he could propel himself, he could skate faster over the ice, forwards and backwards.

The current series of Dancing On Ice continues on Sunday evenings on ITV and we should expect to see the new series early next year.

• Dancing On Ice