Carty ice odyssey comes to an end

Tood Carty was partnered by professional ice dancer Susie Lipanova

Actor Todd Carty has bowed out of Dancing on Ice after an eventful run in the celebrity competition.

The Bill and former EastEnders star lost out in the skate-off with rugby player Ellery Hanley - despite managing to remain on his feet.

Carty managed to stay in the contest in previous weeks, despite falling over during his routine and memorably crashing off the set one week.

"I'm going to have a rest and maybe try another sport," he said.

"I'd like to thank every one of the British public from the bottom of my heart," he added, in reference to being saved by viewers' votes in spite of his problems getting to grips with skating.

But this week he wound up in the bottom two, and was swiftly eliminated by the show's judges.

Former X Factor runner-up Ray Quinn is the bookmakers' favourite to win the series, after his routine with partner Maria Filippov secured the week's highest score.