Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have announced a major change to Dancing on Ice after this series (Image: PA/ITV)
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, the iconic duo from , have announced that they will perform for the last time on live television in the forthcoming series, citing that they are ‘too old’ to continue performing.
The celebrated British ice dancers have claimed 16 gold medals throughout their illustrious careers at World, European, and British Figure Skating Championships before retiring in 1998.
Their crowning achievement was winning gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics with a mesmerising performance to Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, captivating 24 million viewers and becoming one of the most iconic moments in British TV history.
Although Torvill and Dean have been regular performers on Dancing on Ice since its inception in 2006, they have decided to retire from live performances after this season.
“This will be our last live skate – here on Dancing on Ice,” Christopher declared. “We’re doing our last tour this year as well so once we’ve finished our last skate on tour, we won’t be performing again. There are lots of endings.”
At 66 years old, Christopher expressed his readiness to close the skating chapter he shares with Jayne, who is 67, after more than fifty years on the ice. “We’ve been doing it a long time and people our age shouldn’t be doing it now,” he remarked, reports .
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Jayne and Christopher posing at the Winter Olympics in 1984 (Image: Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
“So we’re just happy that we can still do it.”
Iconic skating duo Jayne and Christopher will step down from performing on Dancing on Ice, but will maintain their judging roles alongside Diversity lead Ashley Banjo and the ex- professional Oti Mabuse.
Reflecting on the journey, Jayne shared: “Dancing on Ice feels like our baby because we were approached by ITV in the early days and we came up with this format together of how it might work,” and further expressed the synergy in creating the show: “We didn’t know much about TV but they didn’t know how skating works so together, the programme developed and it’s great that we were there from the beginning.”
Torvill and Dean have been with Dancing on Ice since its first series – and will no longer perform on the show from next year (Image: ITV/PA)
With their performance days behind them, Christopher is taking a leaf out of David Beckham’s book with an unexpected new pastime: “I’ve taken up beekeeping. It sounds like a good thing to do,” he remarked, charmed by the idyllic nature of the hobby.
The glitzy rink-based contest, hosted by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern, pits celebrities like ‘ Charlie Brooks, ex-footballer Anton Ferdinand, The Traitors’ Mollie Pearce, broadcaster Michaela Strachan and Olympic champion Steve Redgrave against each other on the ice.
According to the judges, this year’s contenders are displaying high levels of skill; however, ‘s Sam Aston has shown particular prowess.
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“Sam has taken to it quite naturally,” commented Chris, commending the actor known for his role as Chesney. Jayne also praised another competitor, noting “I was impressed by Anton as well. I like his attitude because of his football background.”