Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean admit it’s ‘strange’ and ‘weird’ seeing actors play their younger selves in TV biopic

 

Dancing On Ice legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have admitted it’s ‘strange’ and ‘weird’ seeing actors play their younger selves, ahead of the TV biopic about their rise to skating fame set to air on Christmas Day.

Speaking on Wednesday’s Lorraine, the ice dancing icons, 61 and 60 respectively, said they found it odd seeing actors Poppy Lee Friar and Will Tudor play themselves, as the film tells the tale of their journey to Olympic gold.

This also comes as Torvill and Dean will make a sensational return to Dancing On Ice in January, but the duo did laugh off any rumours that the show’s ice rink needed drastic care to stop it from melting.

‘It’s unusual’: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean on new film
Odd:  Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have admitted it's 'strange' and 'weird' seeing actors play their younger selves, ahead of the TV biopic about their rise to skating fame

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Odd:  Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have admitted it’s ‘strange’ and ‘weird’ seeing actors play their younger selves, ahead of the TV biopic about their rise to skating fame

Jayne told Lorraine that she found it bizarre seeing a younger version of herself in the biopic, which tells the story of how she and Chris met, along with their journey to stardom.

She said: ‘It’s strange to watch, you have your memories of that time and to see other people portray it is weird. The writer William Ivory gets the drama into it and bring it to life.’

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Having skated together for more than 40 years, Jayne also touched on her and Chris’ incredibly close bond, adding: ‘We’re family, the best of friends. We’ve gone through lots of experiences, including the Olympics, its one of those experiences you’ll never forget

‘We can do the eye talk, as we’re getting older, you know when you can’t be bothered to talk, we just speak through our eyes.’

New look: Speaking on Lorraine, the ice dancing icons said they found it odd seeing actors Poppy Lee Friar and Will Tudor play themselves at a younger age
New faces: In the biopic, Poppy Lee Friar and Will Tudor play Torvill and Dean, telling the tale of their rise to skating greatness

New look: Speaking on Lorraine, the ice dancing icons said they found it odd seeing actors Poppy Lee Friar and Will Tudor play themselves at a younger age (right in the biopic)

Funny: Jayne said: 'It's strange to watch, you have your memories of that time and to see other people portray it is weird'

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Funny: Jayne said: ‘It’s strange to watch, you have your memories of that time and to see other people portray it is weird’

Lorraine then went onto ask both Jayne and Chris how their respective partners felt about their close friendship.

Jayne has been married to sound engineer Phil Christensen since 1990, and the couple have a son Kieran and daughter Jessica.

Meanwhile Chris has been dating former skater Karen Barber since 2011, but he has two sons from his second marriage to skater Jill Trenary.

Lovely: She added: 'We're family, the best of friends. We've gone through lots of experiences, including the Olympics, its one of those experiences you'll never forget'

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Lovely: She added: ‘We’re family, the best of friends. We’ve gone through lots of experiences, including the Olympics, its one of those experiences you’ll never forget’

Hilarious: Chris also revealed that his two sons have had no interest in learning how to skate

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Hilarious: Chris also revealed that his two sons have had no interest in learning how to skate

But despite their long relationships, Jayne admitted their partners ‘understand what they have to do,’ adding that Karen’s skating experience helps.

‘My husband hasn’t done sports so he’s the stable person out of the four of us,’ she also said.

Although she did add that her children haven’t had much interest in learning to skate, a point which Chris echoed by saying his two sons weren’t keen following a trip to the ice rink.

Lorraine then asked Torvill and Dean whether they had any burning worry regarding the Dancing On Ice official rink, which has reportedly been in danger of melting before next month’s launch.

At risk: Jayne also put any fears to rest about the Dancing On Ice rink, after reports it was melting, saying that it was 'just fine'

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At risk: Jayne also put any fears to rest about the Dancing On Ice rink, after reports it was melting, saying that it was ‘just fine’

‘I wanna see this!: Torvill and Dean show off some dance poses

However Jayne put all the concern to rest, saying: ‘We had rain on the press launch, but the ice in the studio is just fine.’

Fans will get to see the Torvill and Dean biopic as part of ITV’s long-awaited Christmas lineup, as the star-studded drama airs on the big day itself.

Stars Poppy Lee and Will finally got a chance to meet the stars on Tuesday when they met up at the Dancing On Ice launch in London’s Natural History Museum

Neither actor was able to skate before accepting the role, and so to help them to prepare the duo had a ‘really interesting’ FaceTime conversation with the athletes.

Will said: ‘What was great was how even though they’re on separate lines they were still finishing each other’s sentences in completely different countries.’

The show will explore the relationship between the legendary duo at the height of their success.

Legends: The sporting superstars made an appearance on Lorraine ahead of the Dancing On Ice launch next month (6th January)

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Legends: The sporting superstars made an appearance on Lorraine ahead of the Dancing On Ice launch next month (6th January)