Dancing On Ice viewers said ‘they were not prepared’ for an X-rated joke Stephen Mulhern made on the ITV show.
On X, fans expressed their surprise the presenter, 47, was not ‘more careful’ about the remark made around 6.30pm on a family programme that airs pre-watershed.
His co-host Holly Willoughby, 43, also dropped her jaw when she realised the nature of Stephen’s joke.
The Deal or No Deal host made the ‘inappropriate’ quip as Holly introduced Love Island star Chris Taylor and his partner Robin Johnstone’s performance to JVKE’s song Golden Hour.
‘Right, it’s time for our next couple who are treating us to a golden hour,’ the Celebrity Bear Hunt star said.
Stephen chimed in: ‘A what?’
Holly clarified: ‘A golden hour. It’s the name of a song.’
Implying he believed Holly had said ‘golden shower’, the Catchphrase star breathed out a sigh of relief and said ‘phew.’
On X, @rbaby said: ‘Stephen just tried to allude that the dance was about a “golden shower” it was a joke…. How many did he offend at 18:30 on a Sunday night? #dancingonice.’
Echoing their sentiment, @beanies_masato wrote: ‘Wasn’t prepared for a golden shower joke at 6.34pm on a Sunday… #DancingOnIce.’
Several viewers also said the remark was startling in the wake of ITV star Gino D’Acampo, 48, being accused of ‘dozens’ of allegations of misconduct over more than a decade.
The 48-year-old Italian presenter has ‘firmly denied’ the allegations in a statement to the broadcaster, saying they were ‘simply not in my nature’ and describing them as ‘deeply upsetting.’
@karen_renton: ‘With @ITV being in the midst of the Gino scandal, you’d think they’d be a bit more careful about golden shower jokes on a family show #dancingonice.’
@ChrisHydeCoope1 added: ‘Mulhern had better be careful in the current tv presenters climate!! #dancingonice.’
@hollywillslove commented: ‘Keith Lemon, is that you controlling the mind of Stephen Mulhern?! 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦!’
This week, Chris became the fourth celebrity to be eliminated from Dancing On Ice after being placed in the skate-off with Anton Ferdinand.
Stephen began co-hosting Dancing On Ice with Holly in 2024 to replace Phillip Schofield when he resigned from ITV after admitting to lying about having an affair with a younger runner on This Morning.
Last week, Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave, 62, became the third celebrity to be eliminated from Dancing On Ice after Chelsee Healey and Ferne McCann.
Metro has contacted ITV and Stephen’s rep for comment.
Dancing On Ice airs on Sunday from 6.30pm on ITV and ITVX.
Dancing On Ice fans shocked over Stephen Mulhern’s ‘inappropriate joke for family show’