Ashley Banjo on the Dancing On Ice panel with Oti Mabuse
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Dancing On Ice: Ashley Banjo under fire for ‘rude’ behaviour towards Oti Mabuse

Viewers were angered over a pair of maracas

Ashley Banjo has been criticised for his behaviour during last night’s Dancing On Ice (January 16).

The Diversity star returned the ITV panel alongside Christopher Dean, Jayne Torvill and new judge Oti Mabuse.

However, some viewers were left far from impressed with 33-year-old Ashley during the show.

Ashley Banjo on Dancing On Ice
Ashley Banjo came under fire for shaking a pair of maracas on Dancing On Ice (Credit: ITV)

Ashley Banjo angers Dancing On Ice viewers

Viewers appeared frustrated shortly after Happy Mondays star Bez’s performance.

During the routine the star arrived on a pair of giant maracas, wearing a crash helmet.

He was given three points by Ashley, Jayne and Christopher, while Oti handed him 3.5 points.

Read more: Dancing On Ice judges: Ashley Banjo on Oti’s arrival, his cancer scare and BLM ‘hatred and trolling’

Following the routine, Ashley said: “You’ve got my respect, if anyone needed to wear a crash helmet – I don’t think they’d come out. But you have.

“Forgot the scores I was genuinely entertained.”

But as Oti shared her thoughts on the performance, Ashley annoyed some viewers at home.

Ashley Banjo on Dancing On Ice
Ashley Banjo continued to shake the maracas while Oti Mabuse was judging (Credit: ITV)

Read more: Dancing On Ice: Brendan Cole defended over ‘unfair advantage’ claims

The dancer continued to shake a pair of maracas, which were given to the judges for the performance.

He carried on shaking them as Oti attempted to talk.

Many took to Twitter to complain over Ashley’s behaviour.

How did Dancing On Ice viewers respond?

One said: “How disrespectful is @AshleyBanjo shaking those maracas in front of his mic while Oti was talking #DancingOnIce.”

A second tweeted: “Ashley was so disrespectful shaking those maracas whilst Oti was trying to speak #DancingOnIce.”

Another added: “How rude was @AshleyBanjo when @OtiMabuse was trying to give her critique of Bez’s performance!! Could hardly hear her over him shaking the maracas!!!”

https://twitter.com/charlie96318733/status/1482794428687425541

https://twitter.com/lmfaoitsjoseph/status/1482793418199814149

https://twitter.com/AinsleyTara/status/1482805566082850828

A fourth complained: “He’s a total idiot.”

A fifth posted: “Ashley shaking maracas while Oti talks on #DancingOnIce is well [bleeping] me off. It’s so bloody rude.”

Another tweeted: “Someone smack the person with the maracas. Oh Ashley #DancingOnIce.”

It’s so bloody rude!

However, others appeared delighted to have Ashley back on the panel.

One said: “Ashley is far better now John Barrowman has gone #DancingOnIce.”

Alongside heart emojis, a second posted: “Back to weekly doses of @AshleyBanjo on my TV screen.”

Week 1: Bez and Angela skate to Step On by Happy Mondays | Dancing on Ice 2022

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor