Stephen Mulhern
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Dancing On Ice 2024 host Stephen Mulhern ‘still suffering’ from Ricky Hatton punch: ‘If I showed you the bruise, it is massive’

Punch-gate continues

Poor Dancing On Ice host Stephen Mulhern is still nursing a sore arm 10 days on on from being play-punched by Ricky Hatton on the first episode of the 2024 series.

And now Stephen has given fans an update on the infamous left hook.

He told The Sun: “He nearly knocked me out. If I showed you the bruise, it is massive. It’s on the arm, it’s very painful.”

Stephen Mulhern and Holly Willoughby
Dancing On Ice 2024 host Stephen was whacked again by Holly this weekend (Credit: ITVX)

Stephen Mulhern still in the wars after Dancing On Ice 2024 opening ep

The on-air gag played out on this season’s debut on Sunday January 14. It was Stephen’s idea and shortly after the incident he revealed that he’d asked Ricky to punch him “as a gag”.

But Stephen, 46, had no clue how much the punch would actually hurt.

The Catchphrase host added: “I said to Ricky, do us a favour… Holly will say to you: ‘Just punch him Ricky,’ which she said off the cuff initially and I said: ‘We should do that live.’ Obviously I forgot he’s a three time world champion boxer.”

The joke continued the following week when Stephen told viewers that his arm was “starting to bruise”.

Fellow host Holly Willoughby replied: “Oh Stevie, you’ll be okay.” She then landed him with a less-than-sympathetic punch of her own! 

Stephen Mulhern
Where it all began… Ricky Hatton right before he punched Stephen on the arm in week one (Credit: ITVX)

Stephen: ‘I never thought I would get this job’

This year’s Dancing On Ice is Stephen’s first year as a full-time host after he stepped into Phillip Schofield’s old role. And the TV star has admitted that this job is a dream come true for him.

Stephen said: “To be working with Holly again is a dream. I never thought I would actually get the job, so it’s been amazing. And also because it’s live, anything can happen.”

Read more: Dancing On Ice viewers hit out at Stephen Mulhern over ‘cringe’ jokes on show: ‘Bring back Phillip Schofield.’

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