Entertainment

Antony Cotton returns to the ice after fall

He was injured when his skating partner Brandee Malto fell on him during training.
He was injured when his skating partner Brandee Malto fell on him during training. He was injured when his skating partner Brandee Malto fell on him during training.

Antony Cotton said he refused to let “a little thing like a few broken ribs” stand in his way as he took to the rink on Dancing On Ice.

The Coronation Street star fractured two ribs in a fall during training this week.

He said he was unable to breathe properly after his skating partner Brandee Malto fell on him, leading to him being taken to hospital as a precaution.

When Cotton stepped out on the ice on Sunday night’s show, he admitted: “It absolutely blooming kills, but it is what it is.”

He said medical advice had been to rest for around four weeks but he decided that “was not an option”.

“I’m not going to let a little thing like a few broken ribs stop me,” he said.

The actor was given 19/40 for his performance by judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Jason Gardiner and Ashley Banjo.

The ITV show, which has returned after a four-year hiatus, has been known for some nasty injuries over the years, including in 2012 when actress Jennifer Ellison took a blow to the head with the blade of a skate, and when the late Keith Chegwin fell and broke his shoulder and cracked his ribs in 2011.

Before the current series started, cricketer Monty Panesar was forced to pull out after breaking his ankle in training.