ITV are said to be working on a series of special Dancing On Ice episodes in the event that the next series can not go ahead as planned.

The celebrity skating contest normally begins in January and even though the next run is eight months away, the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has already thrown it in to doubt.

According to The Sun, ITV have pre-emptively started working on a spinoff, Dancing On Ice Specials, that will feature highlights and bonus footage from the past 12 series.

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, as well as hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, are said to be involved in the project, which is likely to adopt a 'talking heads' format. Former contestants including Gemma Collins, Joe Swash, Jorgie Porter and Wes Nelson have also been approached.

"Obviously no-one knows when lockdown measures and social distancing will be fully eased - but DOI has become a fixture in the winter TV schedules," an ITV source told the newspaper.

"It'd be a hammer blow for ITV to lose it. As such, they've filmed some lockdown episodes - working title: Dancing On Ice Specials - to fill that gap, should the live programmes become untenable.

"Chris and Jayne have been reflecting on their time on the show, and there will be loads of behind the scenes, never-before-scene clips.

"The hope is that these can be screened on ITV2 as a spinoff if the main series is able to go ahead - but execs don't want to take any chances."

Dancing On Ice has been part of the ITV schedules since 2006, returning in 2018 after a four-year break.