The show opened again with an exclusive performance by Torvill and Dean – this time skating to Imagine – and it was gorgeous. I haven’t quite decided whether it’s a mistake to open the show with such brilliance, but I suppose it demonstrates the standard the celebrities are aspiring to.

This week the skaters each had to include a “required element” – the spiral – which was a sort of leaning forward with one leg in the air (the foot higher than the hip).

Duncan James was first out this week, skating to Bamboleo. It was a tricky routine, a fun interpretation of the song and his spiral was nice, but he looked a little bit laboured from time to time. The judges loved it though, so what do I know?

The men – and their professional partners – are surely at a huge disadvantage having to perform the lifts. Yes, the female celebrities need to trust their professional to lift them, but I’d be much happier trusting a pro to lift me than an amateur and it’s a lot more pressure on the male celebrity too. I know it’s the same for dancing, but lifting on ice is surely riskier than lifting on solid ground.

Anyway, Lee Sharpe. I liked it. Much better than last week’s, the lifts were amazing and he looked more confident, but his spiral wasn’t as good as Duncan’s.

Clare Buckfield was next – she was top of the leader board last week so she was under pressure, plus she injured her back in training. It didn’t show though; it was absolutely incredible. It gave me goosebumps. Her spiral, which she did alone, turned into a lift and the routine – sorry, programme! – ended with Andrei spinning while lifting her, one handed, over his head. Incredible. Apparently the papers have been claiming she’s a professional skater. She denies it, but I can see why people think that.

They showed Kay Burley’s injury a good few times (she received a black eye from smashing her face on the ice) and it made me wince each time. They did a good routine and some really impressive lifts, but she looks like she doesn’t trust her partner – she looks frightened and a bit like she’s giving him instructions during the routine.

Ulrika Jonsson skated to I’m Every Woman. There were some complicated lifts which she didn’t look entirely confident about and she also fell. “Ulrika says she’s fitter now than she was at 21 … most blokes think you’ve always been fit, Ulrika,” said the voiceover. Again, what the hell?

Phil Gayle’s voice just brings back such lovely memories of The Big Breakfast (no, really) that I feel very fond of him. Plus they skated to Back for Good. You can’t go wrong with a bit of the That. He looked both stiff and wobbly and I found the routine a little boring. It got a great response from the crowd, but his score was poor.

Lisa Scott Lee, Kyran Bracken and Emily Symons were all very good and even Stephen Gately was improved, but he’s no skater.

Ulrika and Phil were the bottom two and had to skate again for the judges. I assumed the judges would put Ulrika through since she’s clearly a much better skater than Phil and they did so, unanimously. I quite like this judges saving someone business (they did the same thing on Just the Two of Us). They should probably introduce it in Strictly Come Dancing next year since the audience can’t be trusted …

Oh and did I say you can’t go wrong with the That? Um, sorry, Phil.

Dancing on Ice Week 1