Dancing on Ice hero Todd Carty has admitted he was playing for laughs, but insists that his tunnel disaster was not deliberate. Todd, who was booted off the ITV1 show on Sunday night after five weeks of wobbly yet hilarious skating performances, told The Sun: "I thought from the start, 'Let's take the Mickey out of it, make it light-hearted'." A few weeks ago, the ex-EastEnders star had viewers in stitches when he stumbled during his live routine and hurtled off into a tunnel with a look of sheer terror on his face. The video of the incident, which happened on January 25, has since been watched by millions of people on YouTube. Todd admitted he was meant to go into the tunnel as part of the routine - but 'not like that'. He told the paper: "I know people think it was a set-up - trust me... if only. Shooting down that tunnel like that you'd have to be an Olympic skater to go that fast and not crash. I'm not skilled enough to do that." He added: "The plan was for me to skate off into the tunnel and re-emerge near the end of the song. "But as we did the move, little did I realise I would catch my toe clip and go hurtling into the tunnel. I forgot all my basic skills so went charging and stumbling in. Fortunately I got [back to my partner] just in time." Todd admitted hamming up his routines in a desperate bid to win votes from the public. He confessed: "I'm an actor... so, of course, I was performing. I wanted to bring fun and humour to the show - people can take these things too seriously. People at home want to laugh. The whole point of the show is that it's about famous people from across the spectrum trying to dance. It's entertainment, it isn't the Olympics." But he added: "I think it was the right time to hang up my boots." Get exclusive access to your favourite stars. Subscribe to TV Times magazine
