Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Dancing On Ice judges and Olympic winners, have announced their retirement.
On the 40th anniversary of their memorable Winter Olympics victory, the figure skating icons announced their intention to retire from the sport.
However, there is still a possibility to watch them perform first, since they are embarking on a farewell tour that will include celebrities and pros from the ITV skating programme on the ice.
To deliver the news, Jayne, 66, and Christopher, 65, came to Sarajevo, where they won gold in 1984 with their renowned Bolero.
‘It’s been 50 years and the body won’t allow us to keep doing it too much. We felt there was one tour left in us where we can go out and be nostalgic,’ explained Christopher.
Jayne added to The Sun: ’We’re lucky we can still perform to a level we’re happy with, considering our age and how many years we’ve put our bodies through training.’
Their 28-date ‘Our Last Dance’ tour will begin in April 2025 and will visit key cities throughout the UK, including London, Glasgow, and Birmingham. Tickets will go on sale at 8 a.m. today.
Jayne and Phil Christensen intend to spend time in their second house in Spain, while Christopher and Karen Barber will travel in their RV.
Torvill and Dean, generally referred to by their surnames, began their epic career when skating instructor Janet Sawbridge brought them together in 1975.
They won their first championship together in 1976 before switching coaches to Betty Callaway in 1979. The following year, they competed at their first Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, finishing sixth.
After the tournament, Jayne abandoned her work as an insurance book clerk and Christopher quit his job as a police officer to devote their whole attention to skating.
With their whole focus on skating, they never finished lower than gold in any competition, save for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, when they finished bronze.
Of course, their most well-known routine is the Bolero performance in the Zetra Stadium in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Valentine’s Day, which was seen by over 24 million people.
The judges awarded them nine sixes for artistic impression, making them the highest-scoring figure skaters in history for a single performance. The duo also received 12 out of 18 perfect 6.0 ratings for their free dance.
Despite initially retiring in 1998, the duo returned for Dancing On Ice. The show features celebrities who are novice skaters attempting to learn the sport with the assistance of Torvill and Dean and a professional partner.
Although they initially just served as mentors on the programme, which is now hosted by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern, they now also appear on the judging panel.
Dancing On Ice continues on ITV on Sunday night at 6.25pm.
Source My Celebrity Life.