Dancing On Ice Semi-Final 2021: Faye Brookes breaks down talking about her brother’s leukemia battle

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Lady Leshurr has narrowly missed a place in the Dancing On Ice finale next week, after losing in the semi-final skate-off to Colin Jackson.

The duo appeared alongside rivals Faye Brookes and Sonny Jay on Sunday night, hoping to secure themselves a spot in next weekend’s series finale. 

Judges Ashley Banjo and John Barrowman opted to save Leshurr, but Jayne Torvill voted for Colin.

Christopher Dean was then tasked with making the final call, also choosing Colin and his partner Klabera Komini.

The 32-year-old rapper said: ‘I’m actually really happy. I love Colin, he’s always smiling and he’s so genuine, and I literally… I was shaking my head, I was like “Please not again guys, please don’t let us through!”

‘I genuinely want Colin [on the show]. I’ve had an amazing time.’ 

The show had kicked off earlier in the evening with a prop-themed routine, with Leshurr scoring 40/40 – the first perfect score of the 2021 season. She and pro Brendyn Hadfield were tasked with incorporating a chair into their routine – something they did expertly in the eyes of the judges.

Leshurr was so amazed with her score she fell to the ground. But this wasn’t enough to save her, it would seem.

She picked up an impressive 37 points for her personal routine, which was set to No-One by Alicia Keys and was dedicated to her sister, who passed away following a secret battle with cancer. 

All four skaters impressed earlier in the show as they performed touching tributes to important people in their lives.

Faye and Sonny were seen breaking down talking about their loved ones ahead of their performances.

In their individual VTs, Faye and Sonny spoke about who they were dedicating their routines to – with Faye’s in honour of her younger brother, who battled leukemia as a child, and Sonny dedicating his to ‘Producer Joe’ Lyons, who died last year.

Faye explained that she was left devastated by her brother Jack’s diagnosis when they were young – and emotionally revealed she wished it had been her.

Faye was thrilled to receive 40 points at the end of the routine, and spoke to Jack – who beat the disease – via video link later in the show.

Sonny’s friend Joe worked with him and Roman Kemp on Capital FM, with the producer passing away tragically last summer.

Sonny explained how honoured he felt being able to dedicate the skate to his friend, breaking down in tears talking about it before the dance.

Roman appeared via video link to talk about how proud he was of Sonny.

Colin’s dance was dedicated to his mother and late father. 

For the props round, Faye and pro Matt Evers performed with golf clubs, Colin and Klabera used a hotel trolley, and Sonny and Angela Egan’s routine featured a table.

Elsewhere, presenter Holly Willoughby was sure to command attention in a plunging yellow chiffon dress featuring a daring thigh split along the skirt.

Holly’s ensemble featured a form-fitting corset top that showed off a hint of cleavage and she opted to keep her accessories to a minimum so all attention remained on her chic outfit.

She boosted her height in a pair of white open-toe heels, and added a glittering touch to her look by wearing diamond stud earrings.

The blonde beauty styled her golden tresses into loose waves that fell to her shoulders, and she wore a light palette of make-up for the occasion.

Earlier in the day it had been revealed that Dancing On Ice’s annual wrap party had been cancelled amid restrictions resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the years, the ITV show’s glam soirée has served as a place for stars to let their hair down and party up a storm after weeks of gruelling training for the competition.

But with government regulations currently forbidding such gatherings, the cast and crew will be forced to say their goodbyes in a far more subdued manner.

A source told The Sun: ‘It will be a dry campus this year. When the show ends we will still be in lockdown. So the team at DOI is doing what they can to keep everyone safe. That means the party is off this year.

‘It’s a shame because it’s what the cast and crew look forward too after all their hard work over the past months. The party is where everyone cuts loose, it gets really wild. Whatever happens at the party, stays at the party.

‘Phil usually gives a great speech too while everyone is at the bar, so we will be gutted to miss it this year.’

The current series – known as the ‘cursed’ series – has been cut short after five celebrities were forced to quit due to injury and coronavirus with the final being brought forward to March 14.