I was thinking it might be an inner ear problem. I had this badly a few times during ear infections & it is deadly. I was like a drunk person staggering around the house clutching onto furniture & door frames & going out was NOT an option.

This - anyone with an ounce of compassion would think this. At the end of the day it's a TV show, not worth risking anything. The producers have a duty of care to all contestants & they would be negligent otherwise. The paramedics (who are traned experts after all) made the only decision they could - they wouldn't be doing their job otherwise.

They broke Gareth

not sure that was what tracey was saying. Yes he did look awful and was obviously unwell, saying that I think possibly he should have withdrawn from the competition. Its unfair on the others who completed their routines, if one of them is voted off and graeth stays. (now I am off to hide)

I really don't like the flying. It rarely looks graceful or elegant and once you've seen one routine you've seen them all. I'd rather see something different for a change, solo skating or letting the celebs choreograph a routine.

It was the comments about his "over dramatic performance " I took exception to. What else could he do? Go on stage after the first skate and throw up on live television?

Just watched it again and he really does look very unwell, unsteady on his feet and just shocking.

Poor guy. Hope he gets a pass to the final.

BIB - I've just said the same on the main show thread. My mum has vertigo, and it came on late in life, with her just not liking 'normal' spinning type things (much like Gareth) before that, but it was obviously lying dormant ready to come out full-blown once it was triggered enough. Gareth being in the harness would have triggered it in him if it's being latent all these years in him. People think vertigo is all about not liking heights, but it's not that at all - it's a balance issue. Like your husband, my mum couldn't even turn over in bed without being sick. She takes medication now when she feels it coming on, but it took a while to get the right dose, so there's no way they could have worked out what's wrong with Gareth AND worked out how to treat it effectively in the two weeks he's been in the harness on DOI. If it is vertigo he'll need looking at more carefully.

As for the medics on the show 'taking care of him',properly, that's only any good if one of them has experience of treating and recognising inner ear/vertigo problems. Many G.P.s misdiagnose vertigo as 'just' motion sickness, so who's to say the DOI medics are going to be any better at identifying what the true problem is in such a short time?

I'd say this is a pretty unusual situation for DOI (potentially being the tool by which someone's latent, by severe, inner ear disease is diagnosed) which goes way beyond the usual 'feeling a bit sick' in the harness, so surely it's only fair that is taken into account in an unusual way beyond 'if he can't do it he should be out on his ear and that's that'?

Gutted for Gareth. I just hope that if he's in the skate-off (which looks very likely!), he will be OK to skate. I'll be fuming if he goes out because something that has sod all to do with skating has made him sick!

I hope he's ok. He's had health problems before so I'm hoping it isn't too serious.

Yep - I think even if he's top with the public vote he could still be in skate off unless Matt or Beth were bottom with public vote which I can't see happening as I am sure Luke will be.

Tracey's comments might seem harsh but Gareth is hardly at death's door.

I disagree with Tracey that he was milking it - he was clearly unwell after his skate and the medics made the right decision when advising withdrawal from the flying routine - but tough as it might seem Gareth did not fulfil one discipline of the competition i.e. flying.

Therefore only the points garnered from his first performance should be taken into account - he should not be allowed another skate. Should this result in him participating in the skate off - so be it.

A thought that crossed my mind is - Gareth knew that should he progress to the semi finals of DOI he would be required to fly: knowing his height phobia and motion sickness - why didn't he take this into account before signing on?

Did he know though?? I get the impression the flying being brought back wasn't announced initially. Besides, I doubt anyone - Gareth included - would have predicted how badly he'd react.

Flying has been part of DOI for a couple of years. So maybe Gareth didn't expect there to be flying this time. I know that I wasn't expecting it.

My thoughts exactly!!

I don't know, Ignazio. How many times do you find that you have to be hauled up in the air on thin wires and spin?

It's really not your everyday activity!

Besides - he signed up for a skating show, not an aerial circus act. No flying next year please (if there is a next year)

I agree with your last paragraph, I was saying the same to my son earlier.

I have a height phobia and would never climb Blackpool tower

But they had ditched flying for the past couple of series so he may have thought he wouldn't have to do it if he got this far.

I feel they would have been informed of what was happening at the beginning.

I'd be very surprised if he signed a contract without knowing what he was letting himself in for.

It doesn't matter if he is at deaths door, he is still ill to the length that he has to have paramedics called in, and surely we should all be hoping he is ok rather than worrying bout our favourites,

My favourite is Luke, but I'm not seeing this situation as "ooh it might get Luke in the final" I'm seeing it as a man has been Ill due to a tv programme and worrying bout him and hoping he is ok.

Did Gareth know the second he signed up that he would make it this far? Did he know every song, every move, every twist when he signed up summer last year?

luke made the final 3 by default.. what a joke... so is sami was saved last week she would have made the final?.... they should have did 4 in the final

So his little 'over dramatic performance' has led to him being withdrawn from the competition on medical advice.......

Let's hope if you ever get ill that you get more compassion and understanding than you've shown here.....

I think they would have done, but on medical advice Gareth wouldn't have been able to train this week because of illness, so he withdrew. So gutted that he's had to pull out based on the flying which, lets face it, has absolutely nothing to do with skating!

What a charmer you are! It's so nice to see there are still people brimming with compassion out there!

For the record: it's a skating contest