Skating icons Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have opened up about often being mistaken for a couple, as they disclosed why they steered clear of romance following their rise to fame.
Beginning their partnership back in 1975 as teens, the duo gained celebrity status after clinching gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo with their iconic Bolero routine reports the Mirror.
Over nearly five decades together, they’ve kept a close friendship and strong professional bond, even coming out of retirement for Dancing on Ice in recent years. Dean calls them “best friends” while it’s been suggested they once shared a teenage kiss.
Appearing on the The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show podcast, when asked about the rumoured kiss, Torvill teased, “We may have. I don’t know.” Meanwhile, Dean conceded they rarely talk about it.
Torvill elaborated on their decision to avoid a romantic entanglement: “I think we were very conscious [that] other partnerships were in a relationship and the relationship would finish and then the partnership would end. We were very conscious, and I think one of my coaches had mentioned that to me before with a previous partner and you do see good partnerships ending because their personal lives don’t work.”
She concluded, emphatically valuing their career over any potential love affair: “We never wanted that. We wanted our focus to be on skating.”
Dean has opened up about his relationship with skating partner Jayne Torvill, clarifying that while they are “obviously not brother and sister,” they share an incredibly close bond. He said: “We’re best friends.”
“We work together, we have a business together, a business together, but it never feels like a business. We rely on each other,” he added.
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The iconic duo, who have been head judges on Dancing on Ice since the 10th series in 2018, after initially joining as coaches in 2006, are set to judge celebrities including former EastEnders star Charlie Brooks, Olympic icon Steve Redgrave, and Springwatch’s Michaela Strachan this series.
However, they’ve announced their decision to retire from the ice this year. Speaking to Prima magazine, Torvill commented on retirement: “Retirement gives you the chance to try other things you’ve not had the chance to do. I’m not quite there yet, thinking I will have that freedom, because I know there’s a lot of work ahead.”
She added, “But it would be nice knowing in the future that I have that and maybe as the retirement gets nearer, I will have definite thoughts on what I want to do next.”
Discussing their farewell on Dancing on Ice, Dean revealed: “We’re 50 years skating together. It’s our last tour, last time round, so when we’ve finished the tour our skates will be hung up.”
Fans can look forward to Torvill and Dean’s final bow in their upcoming tour, Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance, which is scheduled from April 12 to May 11.
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