Dancing On Ice final: Chico Slimani comes third

Chico Slimani placed third on tonight’s Dancing On Ice grand final, leaving Jorgie Porter and Matthew Wolfenden to battle it out for winner’s trophy.

The 40-year-old and his partner Jodeyne Higgins looked slightly deflated as the news was announced, but the pair remained gracious as they accepted defeat.

Admitting he'd had a brilliant time on DOI, Chico said: “I’ve fallen in love with a sport I never thought I would and with people in front of the stage, back stage…"

He added: “The people at home have given me the chance to come back and show the real me.”

Earlier in the night Chico had put his all into a performance to the hit Happy Days, but suffered a setback when he lost his footing and dropped Jodeyne on the ice. They gained a mark of 26 out of 30 for their efforts from the judges.

The pair refused to be downbeat though and returned with a fantastic performance of Chico’s favourite routine of the series LMFAO’s Sexy And I Know It, which won them a top score of 30 out of 30. He had originally performed the ice dance in week nine of the competition.

Chico did incredibly well on Dancing On Ice – not least because he originally only started off as a reserve in the competition, stepping up after former hopeful Chesney Hawkes injured himself during rehearsals.

The former X Factor hopeful showed natural skill on the ice immediately, and week-on-week impressed the judges as he improved his basic ice dance skills.

Chico’s infectious personality and smooth moves won him legions of fans, and before long he was one of the favourite contestants on DOI 2012.

But tonight his dream of becoming the champion ended, after the public voted former goat herder Chico out of the contest.

Now it’s down to the final two – Hollyoaks babe Jorgie Porter and Emmerdale star Matthew Wolfenden – who will now battle it out on the ice to be named Dancing On Ice 2012 champion, with both performing their version of the iconic ice dance the Bolero.

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