Torvill & Dean say ‘we’ll never forget’ in last goodbye to Sheffield

Torvill and Dean bid farewell to Sheffield crowds on Saturday evening – the pair delighting their fans with an emotional and endearing look back through their 50 years ice skating together.

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean were made famous for their gold medal-winning performance, Bolero, at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics. They later won a bronze medal in 1996 and have toured the world as a skating pair ever since. They have also been involved with ITV’s Dancing on Ice since 2006, first as coaches before becoming head judges in 2018.

The pair announced their retirement on 14 February 2024 – 40 years to the day since their Olympic triumph – and they are now embarking on their goodbye tour across the UK. In this thrilling ride, they reflect on their childhood and when they first started skating together, roll through the exhilarating eighties, with a flick through their favourite records, and spin forward to the present day, with a series of modern twists on classic routines.

They are joined by a host of family favourites, including many of the Dancing on Ice stars such as winners Vanessa Bauer and Alexandra Schauman, and others including Andy Buchanan and Dan Whiston. The younger dancers certainly conduct more of the athletic moves, and they were joined by the USA’s Mirai Nagasu, who won a bronze medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, and American-French figure skater Philip Warren, the latter of whom backflipped his way into the hearts of the Sheffield crowd.

“We have had some amazing times over our career,” Dean said part way through the show. “But tonight is one of those special moments that we will never forget. So thank you for sharing it with us tonight. We really appreciate it.”

He also let slip the dancers were skating on Sheffield steel blades, which certainly drew quite the eruption from the crowd, and ended the show by simply saying: “Normally at this point, I would say ‘goodnight, we will see you again soon’. But this is our last dance, and we just want to thank you all so much for the memories.” At this, some members of the audience replied, bellowing “We love you”.

Some of the livelier numbers are performed by their supporting stars, including an excellent James Bond-theme routine by young stars James Hernandez and Phebe Bekker, and while the more touching moments are saved for Torvill and Dean, there is enough variety and action sprinkled throughout the show.

Neither Torvill and Dean perform in the way they used to, but to see both, who are 67 and 66 respectively, speed around the ice, dancing to the music, and even conducting some lifts and athletic moves is hugely impressive. And of course, they replay all the old hits and give the audience plenty of insight into what it was like to be the best figure skaters in the world.

It is an emotional and endearing farewell. Or as one fan put it as she was walking out of the arena: “I’ve only got one thing to say. That was f****** fantastic.”