Ice skating legends Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill are hailed as one of the greatest duos in the sport, but after years of performing together, they’ve opened up about their relationship behind the scenes – revealing that it wasn’t always strictly platonic.

Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill have opened up about sharing a kiss during their skating career(Image: Getty Images)

Ice skating legends Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill are hailed as one of the greatest duos in the sport, but after years of performing together, they’ve opened up about their relationship behind the scenes – revealing that it wasn’t always strictly platonic.

Dean and Torvill met in 1975 at the Nottingham Ice Skating Club, where they were both training. Initially, they were introduced as skating partners by their coach, Betty Callaway. The pair later went on to triumph at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Although the pair are now known for judging on Dancing on Ice – but quit the show earlier this year.

However, during the early stages of their career, Dean, 66, admitted that the pair were only “a couple” on the ice and didn’t pursue a romance outside of the rink. Jayne, 67, shared a similar view, revealing that she had been more focused on skating than on boys.

Despite this, the pair admitted they once “dabbled” and shared a kiss on the back of a bus after training, even though they had been warned to keep their relationship strictly professional.

Dean and Torvill met in 1975 at the Nottingham Ice Skating Club, where they were both training.(Image: Bob Thomas/Getty Images)

Christopher told The Times: “We were kids. It was before we were skating partners. The team would go to competitions at different rinks. It was a back-of-the-bus kiss on one of those coach trips.”

Jayne recalled how, at around 14, her coach advised her not to date her skating partner, warning that if they fell out, it could ruin their skating partnership. It never occurred to her and Dean to pursue a relationship. Their primary focus was always on skating, and after training, they simply went home.

“We’d see Russian couples get married because it gave them more stability with the regime — it gave them a car, an apartment — but then they’d split up and not skate any more,” the skating professional confessed.

She added: “Having a relationship just didn’t occur to us — we were more interested in skating, that was our passion. It sounds really boring but we’d train in the evening and go home.” The skating duo never explored a romantic relationship and remain best friends.

Jayne tied the knot husband Phil Christensen in 1990, and they share two children, while Christopher has been in a relationship with former Dancing on Ice judge Karen Barber. The pair quit Dancing on Ice after joining the competition show back in 2006, the duo left fans gutted.

On revealing their reasons, Dean said: “As you get older, you get slower, you become less flexible, and things that once felt easy start to feel difficult. Torvill and Dean are still incredible, but there comes a point where you think, ‘If I keep going, it won’t be the same, and I don’t want people to see me like that.’”

He added: “Letting go is never easy when performing is all you’ve ever known. That reaction from the audience, the thrill of being in front of people – it’s a massive part of your life, and when it stops, it can feel like losing a piece of yourself.

“I respect their decision completely. I love watching them skate even now, so of course, I’m gutted, but at the same time, I admire them for knowing when the time was right.”