Dancing On Ice receives hundreds of Ofcom complaints after Rufus Hound slams government over free school meals

Rufus Hound Dancing On Ice

Dancing On Ice has received hundreds of Ofcom complaints following Rufus Hound's comments about the government on Sunday night's show.

The comedian, who is competing in the ice skating contest alongside pro partner Robin Johnston, slammed the government's handling of the free school meals scheme after his live performance.

The Celebrity Juice star received the first 'Golden Ticket' of the series, instantly putting him through to the next round of the ITV show.

While chatting to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about his skating success, Rufus announced, "I've spent most of this year not emotionally stable because the world does not make sense and this does not make more sense of it.

"We live in a world where the people we elect don't want to feed hungry children, this is the least mad thing that has happened to me in a long time."

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Rufus' comment follows the outrage that was sparked by the free school lunch food parcels that were distributed to vulnerable families last week.

With schools closed for the third coronavirus lockdown, many children who are eligible for free school lunches were able to collect a replacement food package.

Brits were left furious when photos of the food offerings began circulating online, with food crisis campaigner Marcus Rashford speaking out to brand them 'unacceptable'.

TV watchdog Ofcom is said to have been flooded with 341 complaints from viewers following Rufus' comments.

Meanwhile some of the 341 complaints were about presenter Holly Willoughby's outfit choice, with some viewers branding her Dany Atrache dress 'inappropriate'.

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More fans of the show took to social media to have their say.

Some rallied to support Rufus, with one Tweeter saying, 'Legend! Thanks for calling this despicable government out.'

'@RufusHound has just become my favourite celebrity,' added another.

'Love @RufusHound for calling out the government for school meals fiasco,' a third agreed. 

Others disagreed, firing backlash at Rufus over the statement.

Rufus later responded to the social media storm, thanking those who backed his words.

'To the people who want to be cross with me - you were never going to be my friend. I wish it were different, but such is the world we now live in.

'To everyone else, thanks for all your lovely messages. I will try to keep doing funny ice dances for you.'

Caitlin Elliott
Junior News Editor

Caitlin is a Junior News Editor for Goodto.com, covering all things royal, celeb, lifestyle, food, and family. Having set her sights on becoming a magazine journalist when she was a child, Caitlin took on work experience stints at local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree and has interviews with celebs, reality stars and the Archbishop of Canterbury under her belt (of course, she couldn't resist asking him about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry).