Exclusive
Dancing On Ice star Matt Evers slams claims of ‘tensions backstage’ after Caprice Bourret’s shock exit
3 February 2020, 12:29 | Updated: 3 February 2020, 13:22
The professional skater has said there is ‘absolutely no tension’ backstage at Dancing On Ice.
Over the weekend it was revealed that Caprice Bourret had dramatically quit Dancing On Ice after ‘splitting’ from pro partner Hamish Gaman.
A representative for the 48-year-old lingerie model told Heart.co.uk: "It’s true that Caprice is no longer participating in Dancing On Ice. It’s been a hard few months and she’s had to keep silent for contractual reasons.
"Her mental wellbeing has been affected over the last two months and recent stories leaked to the press are not only salacious but extremely hurtful. Now she’s taking some time to recover and look after herself and her family."
But after reports emerged that Caprice’s shock exit has caused ‘tension’ backstage, now pro skater Matt Evers has said this is absolutely not true.
Speaking to us exclusively at Heart.co.uk, he said: “There is no tension backstage whatsoever.
“I think because the show is so dangerous and the celebs and pros are so close, we’re going through a war together when it comes to what they’re doing and what they have to achieve week after week.”
Matt, 43, then insisted that Dancing On Ice is ‘a different ball game’ to other reality shows such as Strictly, as celebs have “got ice and kitchen knives underneath their feet”, so it bonds them quickly.
Read More: EXCLUSIVE: Caprice quits Dancing On Ice 'for the sake of her mental health'
He went on to say: “What you see on social media of the celebs hanging out in their dressing rooms altogether - on Saturday they were all in the corridor and they were climbing all over each other - none of that is fake.”
Praising Jayne Torvell and Christopher Dean, he added: “I put it down to Jayne and Chris as to how they run their companies. They’ve always run their companies as families and that is a testimony to them and series after series it has always played true and all that trickles down to the cast.”
Caprice became the first contestant in the history of the show to dump their paired professional two weeks ago but returned to the ice last week with professional Oscar Peter.
But after she sensationally quit over the weekend, a source told The Sun: “Behind the scenes it’s getting rather frosty. Everyone is trying to stay professional but the tensions are clearly there between the dancers and pros.
“It’s a very awkward time and everyone is upset about what’s happened between Caprice and Hamish... They just have to go on with the show though.”
Meanwhile, the whole nation was shocked on Sunday evening when Matt and his celebrity partner Ian ‘H’ Watkins ended up in the bottom two following their ‘Swan Lake’ performance during Fairytale Week.
Luckily, the pair survived the skate off against Kevin Kilbane, with Matt explaining why he thought the public ‘didn’t fully understand’ the routine.
“I think it didn’t sit well with a lot of people, with the track we were given, with it being a female vocal and I think it was just a little too much for people to understand, especially if you haven't heard of swan lake before," he told us.
Teasing what’s to come next week, the star added: “I’m not going to get too deep with the storyline. I don't think there’s any point in doing that, it’s basically just going to be two guys on the ice skating to jazz.” We can’t wait!
