Dancing on Ice: did Corey and his strand of hair survive the chop?

Eight celebrities took to the ice in Week 2 of Dancing on Ice. But there was only one star of the show, Corey Feldman’s bizarre hairstyle, already dubbed “The Strand”.

While the viewers’ eyes were on this creative coiffure, the contestants were focussed on something else: not being knocked out in the first round. After the shock exit of third-placed Andy Akinwolere last week, none of this second batch of skating stars could assume that they’d get through their first judging unscathed…

In the end, the standout performance was from Emmerdale’s Matthew Wolfenden, who topped the leaderboard with 20.5. Described as an “exciting”, “fantastic” and “explosive” performance, it wasn’t just the leather and electricity with his partner Nina Ulanova that got the judges hot under the collar. Matthew’s gymnastic and dance training paid off in an acrobatic routine, and it’s clear that he’s already attracted a significant fanbase amongst “ladies of a certain age”. One to watch.

Last-minute stand in Chico came a very respectable second with an energetic performance crafted in just seven days. The judges were glowing. Robin Cousins praised Chico’s control, Katarina Witt described him as a thoroughbred, Louie Spence seemed to have takeaway pizza on his mind, describing the routine as “hot” if a little “cheesy”.

Third place was awarded to Sébastien Foucan. You know, Sébastien Foucan? No? Well, if he wasn’t chosen for his celebrity status, he was for his athleticism and winning potential. The founder of free-running is used to performing alone – normally halfway up a very tall building – and this showed. While the routine pushed him significantly harder than most of the other contestants, there was little chemistry with partner Brianne Delcourt.

Hanging around the middle of the leaderboard was real-life desperate Scousewife Jennifer Ellison partnered with twice-winner Daniel Whiston. Daniel came back from a hamstring injury and Jennifer overcame nerves to put in a flexible and confident performance scoring 15.5. With the same score was children’s TV presenter and Pop Idol alumnus Sam Nixon delivering a competent if slightly dull routine.

Next in line, Rosemary Conley’s been learning to skate for two years, we were told. Oh dear. Rosemary was described by her partner Mark Hanretty as “a perfect grandmother” – and not without justification. The first lady of diet and fitness brought her own thermos and teabags to training. I half expected her to pull a bag of mint humbugs out to offer the judges. All in, she was actually pretty graceful despite an early stumble, putting in a “genteel” and “relaxed” performance to get a 12.5 from the Ice Panel.

The mystery of ‘the strand’

And then there’s Corey Feldman – Hollywood actor, Katy Perry’s dad (in the music video for “Last Friday Night”) and now owner of TV’s most peculiar hairstyle. Twitter was awash with comments about Corey’s strand of hair. There were some nasty comments, I have to be honest. The phrase “rat’s tail” was used several times at least. His hair even has its own Twitter account (@Coreysbitofhair if you’re interested – views are its own, not those of the head it’s attached to). Anyway – hair aside, Corey looked visibly shaky, staggered through his routine and I think was lucky to get his 11 points.

Propping up the bottom of the table was 66 year-old Laila Morse, Eastenders’ Big Mo and slightly-less-famous sister of Gary Oldman. Laila lost three weeks of training due to a torn shoulder, which put her at a distinct disadvantage, and even though she declared her routine “absolutely brilliant” the judges disagreed, giving her a combined score of 9.5.

The viewers’ votes kept Laila and Corey in the bottom two, with Laila facing the chop after the skate off. The judges’ “excuse” was to save her shoulder, but perhaps the entertainment factor of having a slightly wacky Hollywood type still in the competition was in the back of their minds. Are they hoping for a Charlie Sheen moment? Certainly, Laila looked like she felt hard done by.

So: the strand of hair lives to see another week – unless someone gets to it with the scissors first…

Now all the contestants have skated, who do you tip for the eventual winner?

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