Gemma Collins and Jason Gardiner’s row on Sunday’s ‘Dancing On Ice’ has sparked over 80 Ofcom complaints, it has been revealed.
Disgruntled viewers contacted the TV watchdog after Gemma accused the judge of “selling stories” about her in the press live on air, following his critique of her latest performance.
Ofcom said it had received 50 complaints objecting to Gemma’s “outburst” and behaviour towards the judges.
However, a further 33 viewers complained about the judges’ comments towards the reality star.
A spokesperson for the regulator said that it would look at the complaints before deciding whether to investigate, as is standard procedure.
The pair’s furious exchange came after Jason called Gemma “lazy” in a press interview last week, in which he also said he feared she was turning the show into a “circus”.
During Sunday’s episode, he then suggested Gemma’s performance on Sunday’s live show had been more “Anna Nicole Smith” than “Marilyn Monroe”, before adding: “We’re not going to see big lifts from you.”
Gemma responded: “Maybe if you didn’t sell stories on me I wouldn’t have been so upset.”
When Jason protested that he “didn’t need” to sell stories and that she was harming her own cause by acting like a “brat”, Gemma continued: “Move on. Boring. Next! Don’t sell stories on me. Don’t sell stories on me.”
Jason has since branded Gemma’s claims he sold a story on her “salacious and libellous”.
He tweeted: “For those foolish enough to believe the salacious & libellous accusations about me selling stories to @TheSun,” he wrote, along with a screengrab of the tabloid’s Bizarre showbiz column, “Read what journalist @SimonBoyle87 says as he sets the record straight!”
He also retweeted a message from Simon Boyle, which read: “For the avoidance of any doubt, @officialJasonG gave me and @TheSun an interview to promote #DancingOnIce in which I asked him about (among many other things) the incident involving Gemma. He simply gave his honest opinion.”
Jason and Gemma’s exchange has also prompted criticism from The GC’s fellow contestant Saira Khan, who said it “distressed” her children who were sat in the audience, suggesting the pair should have set aside their differences for “a family show”.
‘Good Morning Britain’ host Piers Morgan has also spoken out in defence of Gemma, insisting Jason acted unprofessionally by speaking about her negatively in the press.
‘Dancing On Ice’ continues on Sunday at 6pm on ITV.
