Josh Jones has said he's 'gutted' that he had to withdraw from Dancing On Ice after being injured during rehearsals.

The 32-year-old comic damaged his ankle during rehearals, forcing him and his  professional partner Tippy Packard to pull out of the ITV show.

He posted: 'Gutted to have injured my ankle this week meaning I have to leave Dancing On Ice. It’s gutting to be leaving because of the injury, I was eliminated by gravity!

'Thanks so much to everyone on the show they have all been so lovely, but my main thanks are with Tippy, she’s amazing and I loved working with her. She’s genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve ever met so it’s been an absolute pleasure. Good luck to everyone else in the competition, I’ll be cheering you all on.'

It came after a message on the official Dancing On Ice social media channels revealed he was leaving the show just hours before last night's episode. It read : ‘Josh and Tippy's partnership will be greatly missed. We will be helping to support Josh and wish him well with his recovery.’

Jones - whose previous TV credits include Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club and 8 Out Of 10 Cats – has not skated before entering the reality show.

When his participation was announced, he admitted: ‘I’ve not got any skating experience whatsoever, I did it once for a date years ago and I wasn't very good, I was holding onto the railings the entire time and we aren't together now. 

‘My dancing isn't great either, for a gay man I have no rhythm, I struggle to clap along to a beat so this will be fun.’

The pair's first skate on Dancing On Ice was a  performance to the Scissor Sisters hit I Don't Feel Like Dancing, which landed them in the bottom two last week, but they narrowly survived elimination.

It is not the first time a contestant has been forced to withdraw because of injury, with Olympic athlete Greg Rutherford was forced to pull out of last year’s final.

Before last year's series had begun, former Gogglebox star Stephen Lustig-Webb withdrew because of an ankle injury.

Coronation Street star Antony Cotton fractured two ribs in 2018, but remained in the series, And in the 2012 series, former Brookside actor Jennifer Ellison cutting her head open with her own skate, but also continued. 

In taking part in Dancing On Ice, Jones was following in the footsteps of comedians Lou Sanders, who took part last year, and Darren Harriott who was a 2023 contestant. Both were fifth to leave