British ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have announced their retirement from skating. The Dancing on Ice judges made the announcement to mark the 40th anniversary of their Olympic gold win.
The pair, both from Nottingham, made British sporting history with their gold medal success for their now-famous Bolero routine at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.
© Jeff SpicerForty years later, they have returned to Sarajevo to celebrate their Valentine's Day performance and confirmed that they will embark on one final UK tour next year.
Reflecting on their 1984 win, Christopher said: "That was really a launching pad of then going off to do other things.
"Touring around the world, skating in front of hundreds of thousands of people and then Dancing On Ice starting up because of winning the Olympics."
Christopher, 66, went on to reveal that the pair had not had many opportunities to practice the routine in the arena before the final. "When you think about the whole day, nobody was there, and then as the day goes on, people start to fill the building and the competition happens and it gets to a climax and the gold medals are awarded," he said.
© Mirrorpix"Then the people start to disappear and then you’re just left with how it was in the morning, we're almost closing the door on the day."
He also revealed that the Princess Royal waited for them in the Olympic village with champagne to celebrate, despite them arriving late after being held up by the Olympic doping checks after the performance.
Following their win, the duo went on to enjoy more success at the 1994 Winter Olympics, where they won bronze.
© Matt FrostTouring, coaching and choreographing followed, before the pair signed up as judges on ITV's Dancing on Ice.
Their final tour, Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance, is scheduled to run from April 12 to May 11 2025.
Opening up about the decision to retire, Christopher said: "I think there comes a time when you know. We’re not spring chickens any more but we’re still able to do it to a certain degree that we feel good about it but that will go.
"So I think this is the right time for us to be able to do that and go and skate and do some of the old routines, be very nostalgic, but then do some new fun, upbeat (dances) with friends of ours from the skating world and from Dancing On Ice," he continued, adding: "We’re looking at it as a celebration."
