Jason Gardiner has stood by his on-screen treatment of the Dancing on Ice contestants.

The show's judge angered some of the show's celebrity participants with his cutting comments and no-nonsense approach on the ITV1 skating competition this year.

However, Gardiner has pointed out that the stars receive massive fees for taking part in the show and insisted that this makes them a fair target for criticism.

"People think I'm being very harsh because they're doing something different and dangerous, but they're being paid a hell of a lot of money to do this," Gardiner told the Liverpool Daily Post. "They're doing it in front of 10 million people every week. It's very good for their profiles.

"It would be different if they wanted to become real ice dancers. You can't sell me this 'Oh, poor little celebrity' thing. To me, it's fair game."

Jason also insisted that his behaviour had not made him unpopular with Dancing on Ice fans.

He said: "By and large, people in the street who watch the show absolutely love what I do and are thankful to have somebody calling it like it really is."