Gemma Collins threatened with shovel by Twitter troll before her Dancing On Ice comeback

Gemma Collins’ Dancing On Ice partner Matt Evers has revealed that the reality star received a violent threat from an online troll before appearing in the show’s final.

The skating professional revealed that one Twitter user posted a message about “physically harm[ing]” Collins to prevent her from returning to the ice.

“Gemma has been so excited about getting back on the ice and told fans that nothing was going to stop her,” Evers told The Sun Online.

“Then one person wrote ‘at least not a shovel.’”

Evers said that he quickly reported the “scary” comments, telling the publication: “I wrote back straight away ‘I hope this is not serious’ and reported it to Twitter.

“It’s very scary to think there is someone out there who would want to physically harm her.

“We hope there’s legislation in the future so people know that bullying on social media is not OK. Whether it’s about fat-shaming, race, or sexuality. There needs to be consequences.”

Ahead of her appearance in the final, Collins vowed that she would “skate like it’s the last day of [her] life” on The Jonathan Ross Show.

Her comments came shortly after she became embroiled in another spat with judge Jason Gardiner last week, when he likened her ‘GC’ nickname to a brand of “refrigerator” in an interview on This Morning.

The TOWIE star accused him of “bullying” her and suggested that she would be too “uncomfortable” to return to the ice, though Gardiner later clarified his comment, describing it as “a light hearted joke.”

She performed to Beyonce’s Crazy In Love during Sunday night’s show in a routine that was mercilessly mocked by viewers, who suggested that she was “standing still” and had “barely set a blade on the ice.”

Former Strictly Come Dancing star James Jordan was eventually crowned this year’s winner, beating Wes Nelson and Saara Aalto.