Torvill and Dean open up about retiring after 50 years of skating together

Dancing on Ice judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean shared their reasons for retiring from skating during an appearance on This Morning

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean appeared on This Morning (Image: ITV)

British ice skating icons Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have opened up about their decision to hang up their skates for good after a celebrated partnership spanning over five decades.

The legendary duo, affectionately known as Torvill and Dean, captured the nation’s heart 41 years ago when they clinched the Gold medal at the 1984 Winter Games. Their spellbinding routine to Ravel’s Bolero in Sarajevo’s Zetra Olympic Hall is etched in the annals of British sporting history, cementing their stardom status overnight.

Yet, after 50 illustrious years of skating in unison, the pair have confirmed they will be taking their final bow. In a candid chat on ITV’s This Morning on Friday (14 February), they delved into their retirement plans.

Torvill and Dean are retiring after one final UK tour(Image: ITV)

Presenters Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond couldn’t hide their dismay at the prospect of the duo retiring from professional skating, with Alison probing the pair about their rationale, reports Wales Online.

“I think there comes a time when you know. We’re not spring chickens any more. We’re still able to do it to a certain degree that we feel good about it, but that will go,” he explained.

Discussing the tour, he continued: “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. We’re looking at it as a celebration.”