Torvill and Dean on hanging their skates up for the last time
“We can’t keep doing it forever, but we wanted to be able to at least skate one last time.”
The January issue of Prima has landed, starring ice skating superstars Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
Celebrating 50 incredible years on the ice together, the iconic duo open up about their lifelong friendship, the legacy of Boléro, and what lies ahead as they prepare to hang up their skates for the final time.
“We have been skating together a long time and 2024 marked 40 years since we won the Olympics,” Jayne tells Prima of the decision to retire. “But we realised that this coming year is 50 years since we’ve been skating together, so it’s a significant milestone in our careers, and the fact that we’re still able to do it at some level is amazing.”
“We can’t keep doing it forever, but we wanted to be able to at least skate one last time,” adds Chris. “And I think 50 years is a significant number, and it’s the right time for us. I think we’ve done everything that we can do in skating other than one last performance.”
Nicky Johnston//Hearst Owned
The pair also traced their skating journey together, recalling the very first time they came together on the ice as teenagers.
“At the time, I was like, ‘Jayne’s a pair skater, she’s not really an ice dancer,’” says Chris. “Anyway, I said I’d give it a go. The coach, said, ‘Get into dance hold,’ which is like a waltz hold. But then the coach thrust our hips close together. We were only 15 at the time and we were a naive 15 back in the 1970s. The coach said, ‘I just have to go get something from the locker room.’ So she left us on the ice in this hold and we were just sort of looking at each other. It was a long five minutes. And when she came back, we were still there and she said, ‘Well done, you’ve passed the first test.’
“We carried on training but even when the coach asked if it was going to be a partnership we’d be prepared to work at, we were a bit superstitious and didn’t want to say yes. So after a month, we still said, ‘Don’t know.’ And ever since that time, we’ve never officially agreed to skate together.”
Despite the decision to end their skating partnership, Jayne also pays tribute to her lifelong friendship with Chris and explains that they will still continue to work together in the future.
Nicky Johnston//Hearst Owned
Photograph by Nicky Johnston
“We’ll still do things together, because it’s not just a working relationship,” she continues. “We’ve been the best of friends growing up, from teenagers through adult life, and as we get a little bit older, we still have that friendship there. And there’ll still be things. For instance, if Dancing on Ice continues after the next series, we will still be part of that, but we won’t be performing within it as we normally do. We’ll just be there for the judging and any other things that come up that are non-performance opportunities.”
The pair also reflected on making sporting history at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, when they performed a mesmerising free-dance routine to Ravel’s Boléro, scooping the gold medal with 12 top scores of 6.0 from the judges.
“We were definitely the favourites going into the Olympics,” recalls Chris. “At the time, the papers were saying, ‘It’s ours to lose.’ And also, ‘How many sixes are they going to get?’ which was the top score at the time. We heard that, obviously, but we tried to push it to one side and not listen to any of those thoughts because, at the end of the day, it’s the judges who are going to make that decision and not public perception.”
“The story behind Boléro was that we were trying to do something different,” adds Jayne. “We had been using Boléro to warm up to in our training sessions, but we got a bit attached to it. And so when we were thinking of something different, Boléro immediately came to mind. As soon as we said it, we knew that was the piece we wanted to do. But we did get criticism, because people were saying, ‘Are you sure you want to skate to a classical piece?’ People in the skating world weren’t sure, but the public immediately saw it as something different and loved it, and it’s incredible that we’re still talking about it now.”
For the full interview, pick up the January issue of Prima, where we also hear from three Prima readers about the special friendships they’re grateful for this festive season. Plus, we interview Vanessa Feltz about her new autobiography and the books that have shaped her life.
Photographs by Nicky Johnston.
Jane wears pink and lilac dresses from Dress2Party and turquoise dress from Eliza Jane Howell. Chris wears suit from Dobell, shirt from M&S, jumper from Zara and velvet blazer from Xposed London.
