Gemma Collins says 'karma is beautiful' after Jason Gardiner leaves Dancing On Ice following their spat

Gardiner will be replaced by John Barrowman in the upcoming series 
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Gemma Collins has suggested that Jason Gardiner’s departure from Dancing On Ice is the result of “karma” after she rowed with the judge during her stint on the show.

The former TOWIE star, 38, exchanged heated words with Gardiner, 47, back in January when he suggested one of her routines lacked “elegance” and was “lazy and mediocre.”

She then claimed that he had been “selling stories” about her to the media and later said that she had felt “fat-shamed” and “bullied” when he made a remark likening her ‘GC’ nickname to a brand of “refrigerator.”

Discussing Gardiner’s decision to leave the show in a new interview with the Daily Mirror, Collins said she was “glad” that the Australian choreographer has been replaced by John Barrowman.

Row: Collins hit back at Gardiner during a live episode of Dancing On Ice
Matt Frost/ITV/Rex

“There’s having a laugh and there’s taking it too far,” she told the publication.

“Karma is a beautiful thing and John Barrowman is now filling his boots. So see you later, honey! Next!

“Boring. There’s criticism and there’s calling someone a fridge. He was referring to my body size.”

Collins previously addressed Gardiner’s departure in an appearance on Good Morning Britain.

“Hallelujah!” she told presenters. “Let’s be fair he only works twice a year in TV. I think he does Dancing On Ice and panto. Would we miss him next year? Hell no.

“People are watching this and probably thinking, ‘Oh she’s a bit strong,’ but you can criticise someone but you don’t have to get personal. Especially with mental health now and bullying. So yeah, hallelujah.”

Dancing on Ice 2020: Contestants

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Gardiner denied any suggestion of fat-shaming in a tweet posted shortly after he compared Collins’ nickname to a refrigerator on This Morning.

“I was not calling Gemma a refrigerator it was meant as a light hearted joke when Phillip [Schofield] said the ‘GC’ which sounds like a white goods brand,” he wrote. “What has happened to having a SoH [sense of humour]?”

Barrowman is set to join Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean and Ashley Banjo on the Dancing on Ice panel for the 2020 series.

Stars including Maura Higgins, Joe Swash, Michael Barrymore and Ian ‘H’ Watkins have already signed up for the competition.

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