Latest news with #ChristopherDean
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Jayne Torvill opens up on reason for 50-year bond with Christopher Dean after final show
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have finished their farewell tour, Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance, after four final performances in their home town of Nottingham Jayne Torvill has opened up about the secret to her enduring partnership with Christopher Dean following their emotional final performance together. The legendary ice skating duo, who captured the nation's heart with their Olympic gold at the 1984 Winter Games, decided to hang up their skates as a pair in 2024. After concluding their goodbye tour, Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance, with four last shows in Nottingham, they reflected on the journey that started it all. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Torvill, aged 67, said "It was all just very new for both of us. "As we skated together a few more times, I think we both realised that we both had a passion for it, and we both wanted to get better. Keep doing it, practice, get better. And I think that's what kept us going all these years. "I always say that we never got married, so that's why we are still best of friends and still love working together." Chris, now 66, added: "Never leave the ice with an argument though. We've grown up through all those stages of life, from 15-year-olds to 20-year-olds to 30-year-olds to marriages to children, retirement now. "We've done so much over the 50 years and seen so much together over the 50 years." The Dancing on Ice legends, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, have hung up their skates for the last time as a duo, 40 years after clinching the 1984 Olympic gold with their iconic Bolero routine in Sarajevo, reports the Manchester Evening News. As they embarked on the UK stretch of their goodbye tour this April, they performed Bolero one last time, with Chris hailing the crowd as "phenomenal" and expressing joy at being able to "bow out on a high". While this signifies the end of their joint performances, the pair assured fans they have other ventures lined up and will continue to stay connected. Chris revealed: "We'll meet up in London and go and watch a show at least once a month, something like that. We like mentoring. We'll work with other people. "I still really enjoy choreographing, so I hope to work with other skaters, and certainly other shows, other skating shows." Jayne added: "We've got other work things coming up, but not performing on the ice together. We are quite often invited to give talks at events and so on. "And normally we wouldn't have had time for that, but we'll have more time to do stuff like that."
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Torvill and Dean perform for the final time as they retire following Dancing on Ice's axe
skating off A former DOI pro suggested their retirement is the reason the show ended TORVILL and Dean performed together for the final time last night as they wrapped up their farewell tour in their hometown of Nottingham. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean last year announced plans to retire 40 years after their gold-winning 1984 Bolero routine at the 1984 Winter Games. 3 And following their last time skating together, Christopher, 66, said: 'The performance went well and the audience were amazing and so, for us, to be able to bow out on a high like that was wonderful.' Opening up about performing in his hometown, he continued: 'These last four performances here in Nottingham, the early ones were quite emotional and I think I sort of got that out of me, and tonight, it was a high.' Jayne, 67, added: 'I think we'll miss it. 'When you've done all these shows like this, and you're suddenly home, not doing anything, you miss that adrenaline rush and you miss the excitement of being on the ice, whether it's a practice session or a performance.' The duo were coaches on Dancing On Ice from 2006 until it ended the first time around in 2014. When the ITV show returned in 2018, they became head judges on the panel alongside Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse. It was confirmed in March that Dancing On Ice had been shelved with no plans for a new series. An ITV Spokesperson said: "Following another successful series earlier this year, Dancing On Ice will be rested in 2026 with no current plans for another series. "We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the cast and crew who have worked on the show since 2006, and over the previous 17 series, for all of their hard work both on and off the ice.' Former Dancing On Ice pro Alex Murphy suggested Torvill and Dean's plans to retire might have had something to do with the show being axed. She told The Sun: 'Torvill and Dean are national treasures. They are fantastic people, and the most iconic skaters in the skating world as a whole, not just England, and I think Britain sometimes doesn't recognise that, or even notice that they are iconic to the world. 'So it's their show. I just love that. It's their show. So whenever they're ready, I think, then that's when it will go.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Skating legends Torvill and Dean sign off with a final performance of the iconic Bolero that won them gold at the 1984 Olympics
Torvill and Dean have hung up their skates for the last time after a final performance of Bolero on Saturday. Christopher Dean, 66, said it had been 'wonderful' to 'bow out on a high' with his ice dancing partner Jayne Torvill, 67. The Dancing on Ice duo took their place in British sporting history when they won gold at the 1984 Winter Games ice skating to Ravel's Bolero at the Zetra Olympic Hall in Sarajevo. The pair confirmed their retirement from skating together in 2024, 40 years on from their Olympic success. In April, they embarked on the UK leg of their farewell tour, Torvill And Dean: Our Last Dance, which culminated with four performances in their home town of Nottingham. Following their final performance together, Dean said: 'The performance went well and the audience were amazing and so, for us, to be able to bow out on a high like that was wonderful.' Asked if it had been emotional, he added: 'These last four performances here in Nottingham, the early ones were quite emotional and I think I sort of got that out of me, and tonight, it was a high.' 'We enjoyed it so much. The skating was good from our point of view, but the audience were phenomenal. They were the best audience ever.' Torvill, 67, said: 'I think we'll miss it. When you've done all these shows like this, and you're suddenly home, not doing anything, you miss that adrenaline rush and you miss the excitement of being on the ice, whether it's a practice session or a performance.' She added that they would continue to work together on other projects but said they will not be skating on the ice together. Posting a video of their last dance together, the pair said the performance would 'forever be in our hearts'. The pair became household names after their gold medal-winning performance at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984. They became the highest-scoring figure skaters of all time for a single programme. They also had success at the World, European and British Championships and returned to the Winter Games at Lillehammer in Norway in 1994 where they won bronze. After they bowed out from competitive skating, they branched out into touring, coaching and choreographing before becoming the faces of celebrity competition show Dancing On Ice, which ran from 2006 until 2014. When the show was revived in 2018 they became head judges until earlier this year when ITV announced it would be rested. Last week, the Olympic gold medallists unveiled a newly updated tram in their name to celebrate 50 years of dancing together. While a rink at the National Ice Centre was also officially named after them and a blue plaque marking their final performance together at the centre was revealed.
ITV News
6 days ago
- Sport
- ITV News
Golden moment as ice skaters Torvill & Dean welcomed back after Olympic-winning performance in 1984
Step back in time to 16 April 1984 - when crowds packed Nottingham to celebrate Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's Olympic gold. Report by Phil Bayles.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Excitement ahead of Torvill and Dean farewell show
Fans were "excited" and "emotional" ahead of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's last ever ice skating Olympic gold medallists were set to skate together for one final time in Nottingham on Saturday, bringing their 50-year career to an end.A rink at the National Ice Centre was also officially named after them and a blue plaque marking their final performance was revealed on ahead of their final performance, Laura Affleck, 44, from Nottingham, said: "We have grown up watching them and we wanted to be here before they retire." Jane Derris-Timson, from Nuneaton in Warwickshire, said she could not wait for the "iconic day" to begin."I'm so excited I cant tell you," said Ms Derris-Timson. The 56-year-old said she had been a "big fan" ever since she watched the pair win gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics."I've seen them a few times before and I'm quite emotional to be here on the last day," she added."Their journey started here and they are national treasures. They've done a lot for Nottingham and the wider community." Usha Soni, 74, said she used to watch Torvill and Dean practice when she worked next to an ice rink in London."The ice rink used to give tickets out to our office and I was lucky enough to see them perform back then," said Ms Soni."I will be very happy for them and wish them the best of luck in the future."Ann Powell, 77, from West Bridgford, added: "I did see them perform soon after they won the Olympics many years ago, which was amazing. "They've had a really good career and I feel very lucky and special to be here."Ahead of his final performance, Christopher Dean said the pair would "always be a part of Nottingham", adding the city will always have a "special place" in their hearts.
