Straight-talking judge Jason Gardiner has confirmed he will be returning to the Dancing On Ice panel when the show returns this year.
Jason Gardiner has confirmed he will be returning to the Dancing On Ice panel when the show returns later this year.
The Australian judge has a reputation as the show's "Mr Nasty" for his straight-talking tactics with contestants.
Jason confirmed he will be returning to the show on ITV's Lorraine programme this morning.
Talking of his return, he told host Christine Bleakley: "All over, it's an exciting show to do.
"I am honest - I always call it as I see it but when they're good, I give them great praise and I think I help them to improve a lot."
"I'm not going in with preconceived ideas of how I'm going to be, you have to be there and assess it in that moment, it's only fair to the contestants to go in there being open.
"Being a judge isn't necessarily who I am but it's a role I've got to do to get my point across."
They are switching their former mentor role to pull up a chair beside Jason on the judging panel.
On today's Lorraine, Jason gave his take on how they will fare and said: ""Its going to be wonderful to see that, there's no question they are ice skating royalty, their credentials back up but it's the first time they judge.
"It is quite difficult to be a good judge on the show and remain impartial."
The line-up of celebrities taking part includes Katie Price, TV psychic Sally Morgan, Corrie's Katie McGlynn, Antony Cotton, Loose Women panellist Saira Khan and X Factor's Jake Quickenden.
ITV have not yet confirmed when the show is due to return, but it is expected to be towards the end of this year.
