STEPHEN Mulhern has opened up about an injury he got during a theatrical moment while filming Dancing On Ice with Ricky Hatton.
The show host got punched by the former boxer as part of a skit, but has since admitted that although it was a joke, it actually hurt.
Stephen said the idea first got floated when his co-host Holly Willoughby jokingly asked Ricky to hit him during an irritating moment.
They decided to turn it into a live moment during Dancing On Ice, but Stephen forgot quite how strong the contestant was.
He told The Sun at The London Toy Fair today: “I said to Ricky, do us a favour…Holly will say to you ‘just punch him Ricky’, which she said off the cuff initially and I said ‘we should do that live’.
“Obviously I forgot he’s a three time world champion boxer.”
Despite wearing padding for the stunt, Stephen has admitted to having a huge bruise after Ricky sent him flying.
He added: “He nearly knocked me out. If I showed you the bruise, it is massive. It’s on the arm, it’s very painful.”
The Deal or No Deal presenter was left flat on his face after the incident, which aired on Sunday.
Shortly afterwards Ricky discovered that he was at the bottom of the leader board.
He became the first celebrity skater to get voted off the show.
Working with Holly again has been an added bonus for Stephen.
“That’s why the show is so enjoyable. Dancing On Ice, anyone can fall over,” he said.
With a cheeky wink, he added: “Not to say I like it when people fall over. But it is quite funny… so yeah I really enjoy that.
“There’s not many shows out there where you get to do live TV and also I get to do a show with Holly which I haven’t done in so long.
“I trust Holly and she trusts me. We’re having a really nice time.
“You know having stood in once (when Phillip had Covid last year) – which is also quite weird that it’s gone full circle – I’m loving it.”
Stephen admitted he said he would be “more generous” if he was a judge, describing some of the decisions so far as “harsh”.
“So I am watching (the skating) and some of the judges scores I think, wow, that’s a bit harsh, because we’re only in week two now,” he said.
“We’ve seen six of each, and the judges, yeah I’m like, ‘Wow, I thought they’d give more than that!’
“We’ll have to see how the show goes on, but hopefully they’ll be a bit more generous.
The humble Saturday Night Takeaway and In For A Penny star last year revived Deal Or No Deal for ITV.
The reboot coincided with Mulhern and his brother releasing a Deal Or No Deal card game through their company, Big Sky Games.
He said growing up in a big family they always loved games, and he’s been lucky enough to collaborate with the shows he’s worked on and release game versions of them.
He said: “The only board game they’d had was when Noel Edmonds did it. So we’ve brought out a brand new version. And I am really excited to see people playing it.”
