In true ITV tradition, Samantha Mumba appeared on This Morning today to speak about leaving Dancing On Ice.

However, instead of the normal polite chit chat and vows to keep skating, Samantha actually managed to have a go at Dancing On Ice judge, Jason Gardiner.

As we all know, Jason has tried, unsuccessfully, to model himself on the original Mr Nasty, Simon Cowell. However, Jason has neither the quick wit, nor the likeability factor to pull it off.

It’s not just for the cameras either, as Samantha Mumba revealed today that Jason can be just as rude off air as on.

Whilst Mumba was enconsed on the comfy couch, Fern Britton asked her:

“Is there anything you would like to say to Jason whilst he is sitting next to you?”

Samantha replied: “I’ll save that for off camera”

But Fern wasn’t going to let this one go: “Oh no! Say it on camera!” She exclaimed.

Jason added: “Why? I’m out of here darling so you might as well say it now”

So Samantha let rip:

“So here’s my thing with Jason, this has been my issue from day one. I think his character on the show is fantastic, it needs it and it makes it wonderful. I think his thing is backstage, even from the first show, backstage you would smile at him and you would get nothing back. And it’s like, ok, which is fine but then today coming into my dressing room and saying ‘how are you’ it’s like ‘he talks? To us?’ it’s just weird”

Jason quickly responded: “In my defence, you have to remember, I have to keep myself from you as a judge”

But Samantha wasn’t going to be won over, she continued: “None of the other judges do, they are all very lovely”

Jason defended himself, saying:

“Well that’s the way they work”

Samantha answered: “Which is fine. I find him [Jason] vile but at the same time, also, with a bottle of wine I know we would have a ball”

Jason tried to get the last word, saying: “Well, I don’t drink so it won’t happen”

Samantha finished with: “you need to, maybe that’s the problem”

Nice one Sam!

Fresh from the cobbles of Coronation Street, actress Zaraah Abrahams joined Dancing on Ice this week, to replace GMTV’s Michael Underwood who crashed out of the competition after breaking his ankle during training.

Platinum selling group Westlife performed on the show as Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean danced to their hit song “World of Our Own”. The compulsory manoeuvre for all the contestants this week was the pairs spin.

It was an emotional night, and Michael and his skating partner Melanie came back onto the show to be interviewed and both of them as well as Jayne Torvill broke down in tears when they watched the tape of Michael’s accident.

Meanwhile, after doing the splits during her routine, Samantha aggravated a hamstring injury she already had and was taken off the rink after her routine for immediate physio treatment.

Samantha Mumba and Steve Backley found themselves in the bottom two after the judges points and the public votes were combined. The judges all chose to save Steve Backley saying he fought for every second

On hearing the news, Samantha said: “I’ve had an absolute ball and really enjoyed it. It was amazing, I just want to keep doing it for fun”

Film star and singer, Samantha Mumba may quit ITV series Dancing On Ice before it even airs.

Mumba has collapsed at home due to a mystery illness and doctors have hooked her up to a drip as she appeared to have severe flu symptoms and dehydration.

Show bosses have ordered extra medical staff to be on hand for Saturday nights launch, but at the minute Samantha is so ill that she fears she miss the show altogether.

A source close to the star told The Mirror: “She was very sick but is resting now and is determined to get better and get back on the ice.”

Sexy singer and actress, Samantha Mumba, 24, who has relocated from her home in Los Angeles for Dancing On Ice, confesses her
body has never been in such good shape.

“I’m discovering muscles that I never knew I had and this is the fittest I’ve ever been. I’m actually very proud of myself with my skating and I’ve definitely got very fit.”

With a platinum album under her belt in 2000 and following musical success in both the UK and the notoriously difficult American market, Samantha turned her hand to acting, appearing in several films including Steven Spielberg’s The Time Machine and most recently starring in the Irish movie 3 Crosses.

Having had a break from her singing career, Samantha is set to release a new single in early 2008. With a love for ice-skating since she was a little girl, Samantha jumped at the opportunity to develop a new skill.

“I’ve always loved watching ice skating, I just think it’s so fabulous and amazing how they do it, and they’re so fit. I wished my Mum and Dad had put me into that when I was a little kid. I never thought at this age I’d get to do it but it just goes to show that you never know.”

Admitting that she’s naturally fairly lazy, it takes a strong character to motivate her and she has nothing but admiration for skating partner Pavel who is cracking the whip.

“I was so relieved when I saw Pavel. He’s big and tall and strong and I was saying to myself ‘Thank you!’ He’s really good and he pushes me a lot. I’m lazy and he’s definitely tough on me, but that’s a good thing because he just wants to get the most out of me.”

“We’ve been doing lifts upon lifts and skating every day and I’m happy with how I’m getting on. For the longest while I had the feeling that I was never going to get there, never going to be able to skate backwards and never be able to do everything but it slowly just starts to happen and it’s actually a lovely feeling to be making progress although there is obviously lots of room for improvement.”

It’s not just the physical time spent on the ice that takes its toll on the contestants, which came as something of a surprise to Samantha.

“Practising two hours a day is already hard so it scares me that when the shows actually start the time will go up even more to maybe four hours a day.The skating is definitely a lot harder that I thought it would be, mentally as well as physically.After a session I’m drained for the whole day and I didn’t realise you needed as much stamina to do it. It looks so easy because you’re gliding round the ice and everyone looks graceful and elegant but it’s definitely a lot of tough work.”

One low point for Samantha has been suffering a knee injury which more than anything has affected her confidence
on the ice.

“I’m so clumsy at the best of times that I was focusing on not falling and now typically I’ve hurt my knee. I was devastated to do it and I tore a couple of ligaments but I’m being optimistic and I’m determined to not let it affect me. I will hang in there.”

Spending more time in the gym to compensate for her injury and to strengthen her muscles is a positive and Sam is thrilled that she can treat herself to her favourite fast food without piling on the pounds.

“I’m doing a lot of strengthening work in the gym to keep everything going and working really hard. I’ve been losing weight and getting into smaller jeans.That hasn’t happened in a long time! I’ve cut out the alcohol since I’ve started training because the thought of getting onto the ice with a hangover is unbearable. I’ve been trying to eat well but actually it’s nice to think ‘You’ve skated a few hours today, you can have that Big Mac’.”

After watching last year’s contestants in Dancing on Ice, Samantha has a definite favourite.

“Kyran is such a nice guy and it’s amazing that he’s now skating for a living. It’s unbelievable especially seeing his journey from the beginning to the end. He’s very inspiring to me and I think he’s lovely.This is so far out of my comfort zone and I’m afraid that I’m going to be so nervous that I shake that first night on the ice and then fall over. But remembering the journey that others like Kyran have come on before keeps me going.”

Singer and dancer, Samantha Mumba has claimed that all the time spent on rehearsing for ITV’s Dancing On Ice has left her with a great, sexy new shape.

She said: “My high point in this competition so far has been losing weight. Squeezing into smaller jeans – now that’s something that hasn’t happened in a long time!

“I’m discovering muscles that I never knew I had and this is the fittest I’ve ever been. I’m actually very proud of myself with my skating and I’ve definitely got very fit.”

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean return ready to put a brand new team of well known names through their paces to prepare them for the ultimate live ice dancing championship.

This year the Dancing On Ice twelve contestants are: Javelin champion Steve Backley, Hollyoaks actor Chris Fountain, pop star Gareth Gates, TV presenter Sarah Greene, Emmerdale actress Linda Lusardi, TV presenter and cleaning guru Aggie Mackenzie, singer Samantha Mumba, TV presenter Natalie Pinkham, tennis star Greg Rusedski, singer and actress Suzanne Shaw, GMTV reporter Michael Underwood, and TV presenter Tim Vincent. Check our site tomorrow for the full celebrity profiles and official Dancing On Ice pictures.

With expectation higher than ever, and performances set to be even more spectacular, our twelve novice skaters have their work cut out to make the grade. Paired with a champion skating partner, and coached by the superstar duo, they will take to the rink, hoping to impress with their glittering costumes, daring moves and slick routines.

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby preside and each week our resident panel of expert judges will scrutinise every dance, hoping to be increasingly dazzled by the thrill, speed and grace of the live ice performance.

Each week it’s up to the viewers to judge the talent and make the final decision on who should skate on… or off the championship.

11 million viewers tuned in to see ex-England rugby ace Kyran Bracken crowned Dancing On Ice champion 2007 after a nail-biting contest which saw him fight it out against Clare Buckfield and Duncan James, as each performed their own version of Torvill and Dean’s legendary Bolero.

Jayne Torvill said: “It’s fantastic to be back after the success of the first series and we are looking forward to joining a new batch of celebrities on the ice.”

Christopher Dean said: “We have a great mix of stars from the worlds of sport, radio and TV who have the potential to match some of the outstanding talent we saw on the first series.”

With the bar raised, and competitiveness at a peak, how will our new celebrity skaters fare under the spotlight?

This new six-part series sees legendary Live Aid and Live 8 promoter Harvey Goldsmith on a mission: to help revive the fortunes of six entertainment businesses in desperate need of a boost, and set them back on the path to the big time. How will the acts react to Harvey’s unique approach to management? And in a world renowned for overblown egos, who will win the battle of the wills?

The subject of tonight’s first programme is Samantha Mumba. Five years ago she was a teenage pop phenomenon with six hit singles, a platinum album and US record sales in excess of one million under her belt before she turned nineteen. Steven Spielberg cast her in the hit movie The Time Machine . She should have had the world at her feet, but instead it all came crashing down around her; she was dropped by her record label, and the film roles dried up. Five years later Harvey is keen to help put LA-based Mumba back on the road to showbiz glory, but it’s not a smooth path.

At their first meeting in her home town of Dublin she keeps him waiting but promises she’s serious about her intentions and arranges to meet him again in LA to perform her new material for him. A month later in America, Samantha won’t perform and when it looks like she’s a no-show at the dinner Harvey is hosting for her, he threatens to quit the project. Finally she turns up, he likes what he hears and they’re back on track but still Samantha won’t commit to the management deals Harvey has put together.

They are now locked in a battle of wills: she won’t focus, and he won’t give up. The programme culminates in a showcase in London with an audience of the industry’s big hitters, with Samantha appearing in the UK for the first time in her career. Can Harvey figure out what’s eating her before she blows her one chance of a comeback, and will Samantha overcome her fear of performing live? In fact, will she even turn up? An accompanying E4 series – Get Your Act Together: The Showdown – goes behind the scenes of the series and reunites Harvey with each act.

This show will air on Channel 4 on 27/03/2007 at 9pm.

Music mogul Harvey Goldsmith has put his considerable weight behind Samantha Mumba as the newest judge for the X Factor. The famous music promoter and manager has spent the last six months working with Samantha on the relaunch of her career in the UK and The US.

“It wasn’t a smooth path by any means, and at times she drove me half mad,” he says, “but at the end of the day, Samantha revealed she’s got the great natural talent it takes to be a huge star.

“I believe Samantha would make a fantastic judge, having experienced the highs and lows of success herself, and she isn’t shy of making her thoughts known.”