Ant and Dec fans get their skates on as Telford Ice Rink stars on show

Today bosses at the attraction revealed how they had been sworn to secrecy after being approached by the ITV show.

Around 8.5 million watched as the ice rink became one of four locations taking part in the Sofa Watch, in which viewers are challenged to identify and make their way down to sofas positioned at UK landmarks.

"Good luck getting to that one – you'll need your knee and elbow pads on."

Those were the words of Saturday Night Takeaway's Dec Donnelly as he introduced a simple white settee in an empty ice rink as part of this week's Sofa Watch segment.

It didn't take long for families to recognise Telford Ice Rink and rush there in the hopes of an appearance on this week's programme, and perhaps even the chance of winning a VIP trip to see the next show being filmed.

The weekly game shows four live locations from around the UK, and asks viewers who recognise them to go down.

The grand prize ended up going to a couple from north Wales, but that didn't stop the fans who were dedicated enough to make their way to the leisure attraction on Saturday night from having a great time. After the episode had aired, staff at the Ice Rink took to social media to thank everybody who had attended.

They wrote: "Did you guys spot us on tv tonight then?

"Well done to everyone who watched Saturday Night Takeaway and got down to the rink. We loved having you."

James Craig, team leader at the ice rink, said: "I don't think we've had national TV exposure for 10 years, so it was very exciting for us. We were approached at the beginning of the week, and we were just lucky that there were no bookings in when they wanted the time slot.

"The producer came down later in the week to scout the location and her heart was set on it right away – they knew it needed to be Telford Ice Rink. When you watch the show, Ant and Dec refer to ice skaters tottering along to the sofa, so there was a comedy value in it.

"It was really difficult to keep it a secret for the whole week, because it was so exciting. We were watching it live and then people just started turning up. It was very surreal – the only set-up was a cameraman, a producer and some ITV runners.

"Afterwards we held a public session as normal – everybody was talking about it."

It's not the first time Shropshire residents have appeared on the popular Saturday night variety show.

In April last year Shrewsbury swimmer Zoe Cooper and synchronised swimming team Aquabatix performed as part of the series finale, swimming live to music from Katherine Jenkins on board a cruise ship.

She said: "The atmosphere was absolutely incredible on the ship."