Bracken skates to ice dance glory

Kyran Bracken beat fellow finalist Clare Buckfield

Rugby star Kyran Bracken has been crowned winner of this year's Dancing on Ice competition on ITV1.

Bracken beat fellow finalist Clare Buckfield after garnering the highest score for his performance of Torvill and Dean's famous Bolero routine.

Blue singer Duncan James bowed out of the contest after garnering the fewest votes for the final's first round.

"The last 11 weeks have been amazing," said Bracken after he was handed the trophy by host Phillip Schofield.

Bracken then went on to thank his skating partner Melanie Lambert.

The first stage of the final saw the contestants performing a routine partly in mid-air as wires attached to their costumes pulled them high above the rink.

The contest began on 13 January with a total of 11 contestants, including former Steps singer Lisa Scott-Lee, Ulrika Jonsson and former Boyzone singer Stephen Gately.

As in the BBC One hit, Strictly Come Dancing, each celebrity was coached by a professional and must compete for viewers' votes each week to remain in the competition.

Dancing on Ice was one of ITV1's biggest hits last year, pulling in 11.6m viewers for the final, when former Coronation Street actress Gaynor Faye was crowned champion.