Holly Willoughby is smiling and joking again according to a colleague.

Pro-skater Andy Buchanan says how being paired with Stephen Mulhern has put a spring back in her step.

He says: “I feel like I’ve got to know Holly way more, since he’s been on. He just opened that door. He’s hilarious. He jokes around, chats to everyone - and now I think she jokes more, she’s more open, she chats to us more. To be honest, it wasn’t like that before Stephen came.”

Stephen joined Dancing On Ice last year to replace Holly’s long-time co-host , who stepped down presenting both and Dancing On Ice. Just five months later, Holly subsequently left This Morning following a murder and kidnap plot.

Andy returned to the show this month alongside his Hollyoaks star partner Chelsee Healey, with the pair being the first couple to be voted out of the show last week. Despite his short-lived stint, Andy says he noticed a particular change in Holly, 43, this season, and it’s all down to her co-host, Stephen.

“I have to say, Stephen Mulhern was the greatest addition to the show,” says Andy, who spoke at the Fake Bake re-launch event. While Holly’s on cloud nine, Andy can’t help but feel ‘gutted’ to be voted out so soon.

“Chelsee didn’t deserve to go out. She was just finding her feet. Our second routine, everything the judges critiqued us on she’d fixed, it was brilliant. It was a shame.”

He continues: “She’s just the loveliest person - she’s also the most real celebrity I’ve skated with, she tells it like it is. She’s not ‘showbizzy’ at all and I love that about her.”

Adding that it was tough for Chelsee to balance the show and being a mum, Andy said: "It was difficult for her, she had a baby, Cookie, just over a year ago. With a show like this, the entire family signs up for DOI. It’s such a commitment, in time and physically and mentally.

"When you have kids, you’re in the bubble, but then you have to leave the bubble. I’ve had partners where that’s their focus, they’re fully immersed. It’s exhausting when you have children, too. She’s such a good mum. We’ve already decided that she’s going to take me to a Man United game. I’ve never been to a football match in the UK so yeah I’m excited."

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