Dancing On Ice’s Head Coach Karen Barber has spoken out in support of Gemma Collins, amid claims of ‘diva behaviour’ behind the scenes of the show. 

The skater has insisted she hasn’t seen a whiff of the antics that Gemma has been accused of by some of the tabloid press. 

Speaking to Digital Spy, Karen said:  “In my company, as her coach, she’s been great. She’s put the work in and she’s really had a great attitude.

“I don’t do the social media so much, maybe it’s all out there! In my company, she’s been great. And, so, that’s how she’s learned to skate because she’s put the work in.”

Asked whether she knew that Gemma had left Sunday’s live show early, Karen added: “I didn’t. We’re kind of focused doing what we do. I don’t really know.”

Karen’s comments came after Gemma broke her silence on recent headlines, claiming she has been “in tears” about the “nasty rumours”. 

Among the claims made about the ‘TOWIE’ star were accusations she had thrown members of the show’s camera crew off the ice during her rehearsals, adding she was “making life difficult” for production and “trying to rule the roost” – something that show bosses have denied. 

It came less than 24 hours after they denied claims she was about to quit the series, after Gemma was apparently left furious at comments made by ‘DOI’ host Holly Willoughby. 

The presenter had called out her “unprofessional” behaviour after she and Phillip Schofield were informed about her leaving the studios before the end of Sunday’s live show. 

However, Gemma’s professional partner Matt Evers spoke out to insist Gemma had actually been told she could leave by a member of the production team in a “miscommunication” error. 

The GC later took to Instagram to insist there was no bad blood between her and Holly. 

She said: “I think they were given information that wasn’t correct and they’ve given their opinion on it. Hopefully they’ve been told [the] straight facts now, but I agree with Holly.

“If I had done that I’d be saying the same, ‘god, how unprofessional.’ I only have love for Holly and Phil. Big up the Holly and Phil. There’s no beef here.”