Dancing On Ice fans in floods of tears as Anton Ferdinand breaks down after emotional tribute to late mum

DANCING On Ice fans were left in floods of tears last night after Anton Ferdinand broke down following an emotional tribute to his late mum.

The footballer, 39, dedicated his latest dance to his beloved mother Janice who died in 2017.

Last night viewers watched as Anton took to the ice to dance to She’s Royal by Tarrus Riley, alongside his pro-skating partner Annette Dytrt.

In his VT he returned to his roots in Peckham and explained how Janice was much-loved in the local community.

Anton and Annette smashed their routine, and received an impressive score of 34.

However, it all got too much for Anton, who revealed he had chosen that particular song to dance to, because it was his late mum’s favourite.

Speaking to hosts Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern after the scores were in, the choked up star fought back tears, as he said: “I just hope I did her proud.”

As Anton said these words he looked up to the sky, as a nod to his beloved mother.

This touching moment was all too much for fans, who took to X/Twitter, with one saying: “Oh Anton, my heart goes out to you. You did your mum proud.”

Another added: Anton mate, your mum would be proud.”

A third said: “Great job Anton! You’ve made me cry with that tribute to your mum.”

Janice died in 2017 after battling cancer.

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At the time of her death, Anton’s brother Rio Ferdinand posted a sweet tribute which said: “You were an inspirational person in so many ways, one day I will be able to tell you them all face to face.”

He added: “Mummy. It won’t ever be enough but I just want to say thanks, a really big thank you.

“The ability you had to make me feel loved at every moment in my life without even having to say it or be there by my side will never be forgotten.

“You were a fighter, a little fighter but with a huge heart. And you wore that heart on your sleeve throughout.”

Meanwhile, last night’s episode of Dancing On Ice saw Steve Redgrave became the third celebrity to be eliminated from the ITV competition.

There was no skate-off again, instead hosts Holly and Stephen came straight out with the result.

Before taking a lap of honour, the Olympic hero, 62, said: “It’s been absolutely amazing and this young lady’s [skating partner Vicky Ogden] been incredible.”

And it was a fair result, with Sir Steve finishing at the foot of the leaderboard with just 21 points.

It was a drama-filled night that saw Chris Taylor take a tumble, Sam Aston’s secret shoulder injury revealed and judge Christopher Dean pay a poignant tribute to air crash victims.

The latest show also followed pro skater Vanessa Bauer’s shock news that she has been forced to withdraw from the series due to injury.

She was the third person involved in the current series to pull out following Dame Sarah Storey and comedian Josh Jones.

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