Melody Thornton said her athlete father would be proud of what she had achieved as she was eliminated from Dancing On Ice.

The Pussycat Dolls star was shown the door after a skate-off against Saara Aalto on Sunday night’s show.

As she was told her time was up, Thornton agreed it had been a wonderful experience, adding: “I know my father would be very proud of me.

“Because he is the best athlete in the world.”

Thornton and Aalto had ended up in the bottom two after a public vote and judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Ashley Banjo and Jason Gardiner chose to save former X Factor contestant Aalto.

Gardiner said it was a tough decision, telling the skaters: “I adore both of you.”

Aalto now goes through to the semi-final of the ITV show alongside James Jordan, Wes Nelson and Brian McFadden.

Earlier, Nelson earned two perfect 10s just hours after a fall.

The Love Islander and his skating partner Vanessa Bauer took a tumble as they were rehearsing for the programme, and ended up taking a tricky lift out of their routine.

But there was no sign the slip had affected them as they took to the ice and earned a whopping 38.5 out of 40, the highest score of the series so far.

Sunday’s show also saw the contestants take part in a skate battle in which they showed off their moves and the judges ranked them.

Jordan pipped Nelson to first place, while Thornton was third, McFadden fourth and Aalto fifth.

Dancing On Ice continues on ITV.