Todd Carty denies 'Ice' fakery claims

Todd Carty has denied suggestions that he is misleading viewers with his poor Dancing On Ice performances.

The former EastEnders actor has become a hit with the show's fans since he tripped and skated off set during a live performance two weeks ago.

Michael Underwood, who was eliminated last weekend, recently claimed that Carty is "nowhere near as bad as he is making out", leading to speculation that the apparent blunder was staged.

However, in an interview with the Daily Star, Carty insisted: "You can plainly see that unless I was some secret Russian gymnastic skater it's all real. You'd have to be really good and experienced to deliberately catch your toe pick and go flying into a tunnel - and I'm not. It was as natural as you saw it."

He added: "I went much faster than in rehearsals and couldn't stop. It was just panic, blind panic - I forgot all the basic skating. Being an actor the show must go on and I just wanted to get on for the end of the routine and by luck and a good shove from the assistant I got there just in time."

Dancing On Ice continues at 6.50pm tomorrow on ITV1.