DANCING on Ice judge, Jason Gardiner, has threatened to sue Gemma Collins following their spat on the popular ITV show.

Jason, 47, has told the TOWIE diva he is taking action for defamation in what is believed to be the first time a talent show judge has sued a contestant while they remain on the same series.

Last Sunday's show saw Gemma, 37, accuse Jason of selling stories about her as he critiqued her performance.

Jason then called "The GC" a "brat" after the diva bellowed out "boring" and "shut up" when the hard-to-please judge evidently rubbed her up the wrong way.

Gemma is said to be aware that Jason intends to take legal action against her.

An insider said: “Jason has made Gemma aware that he intends to sue her. He’s livid.

“He insists that all he did was give an interview to The Sun, where he was asked about lots of things, including Gemma.

“She’s very stressed about the idea of being sued and she wants the situation to die down so she can focus on her skating.

“This has become the biggest reality show war ever.”

Her TOWIE co-star and boyfriend, James “Arg” Argent, 31, also accused Jason of “selling stories and lies for money and publicity” on Twitter.

Karen, 44, told the Echo: "It was a big mistake ITV hiring Gemma for Dancing On Ice, she was always going to be a diva.

"This is a family show.

"I'm glad Jason is suing her, he didn't say anything outlandish on the show, just facts.

"She is talented at being vile and obnoxious and she gets a lot of money from that, and I really resent it.

"Kids also pick up on the bad behaviour of celebs and how they get thousands from it, it's a joke."