Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean reveal that if Dancing On Ice continues beyond new series they ‘won’t perform in it’ – after their retirement plans and falling ratings cast doubt on the skating show’s future

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have revealed that if Dancing On Ice does continue beyond the upcoming series, they will no longer perform in it.

The Olympic skaters’ admission comes after both their retirement and falling ratings for the ITV show cast doubt on its future.

Speaking in Prima magazine’s January issue, Jayne and Chris spoke about their plans to hang up their skates – and what that could mean for the ice dancing show they inspired.

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The pair, known as Torvill and Dean, rose to fame when they won gold at the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics with their iconic skate to Maurice Ravel’s Boléro – which is replicated each year by the Dancing On Ice finalists.

The skating stars delight Dancing On Ice viewers each year as they themselves take to the ice – but they have now confirmed that will no longer be a feature if the show does continue beyond January.

‘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,’ Jayne said. ‘We’ll just be there for the judging.’

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Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have revealed to Prima magazine that if Dancing On Ice does continue beyond the upcoming series, they will no longer perform in it

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The skating stars delight Dancing On Ice viewers each year as they themselves take to the ice – but they have now confirmed that will no longer be a feature if the show does continue beyond January (Pictured in 2021)

Speaking about their looming retirement, Jayne said: ‘We have been skating together a long time and 2024 marked 40 years since we won the Olympics.

‘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.’

Chris added: ‘We can’t keep doing it forever, but we wanted to be able to at least skate one last time. 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.’

Following the end of their competitive career, Torvill and Dean started coaching and choreographing and regularly toured, before becoming the faces of Dancing on Ice in 2006.

The future of the skating show was thrown into doubt after the head judges Jayne and Christopher revealed they are ready to hang up their skates.

The ITV show is set to return to screens in January, but beyond that the future of the show is known.

Ratings for the competition have been falling steadily over the years and the former Olympic gold medalists are readying themselves for retirement, according to the Mirror.

This could mean that the show’s 17th series is it’s last almost 20 years after it first aired.

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The pair, known as Torvill and Dean, rose to fame when they won gold at the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics with their iconic skate to Maurice Ravel’s Boléro (pictured)

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View gallery

Speaking in Prima magazine’s January issue, Jayne and Chris spoke about their plans to hang up their skates – and what that could mean for the ice dancing show they inspired

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View gallery

The Olympic skaters’ admission comes after both their retirement and falling ratings for the ITV show cast doubt on its future

But before the duo skate away in to the sunset, they will do a final tour next year, and they will continue to judge the celebrities as they take to the ice.

The pair’s possible departure from the show could be the final nail in the coffin as the competition would lose one of its biggest draws, despite their plans to stay on as coaches and judges.

Chris told the publication that the future of the show will be known by the end of the series.

He said: ‘By the end of the series we’ll know.

‘We would love the show to continue. It’s been a renaissance for us. It started 2006 so it’s almost 20 years of our life as well. We’ve been doing Dancing On Ice longer than we did as competitors.’

His partner Jayne explained: ‘We were part of it from the beginning.’

The last series saw struggling viewing ratings with one episode managing to pull in only 2.9million viewers, a stark contrast to the 12 million it got at its peak.

Another issue ITV producers will have to contend with is the show’s host Holly Willoughby, 43, is reportedly keen to expand her career and try new things.

Despite their stars possible moving on to greener pastures, ITV is still hoping its latest batch of stars including Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave, 62, and Coronation Street actor Sam Aston, 31, will draw viewers back in.

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Following the end of their competitive career, Torvill and Dean started coaching and choreographing and regularly toured, before becoming the faces of Dancing on Ice in 2006

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View gallery

Speaking about their looming retirement, Jayne said: ‘We have been skating together a long time and 2024 marked 40 years since we won the Olympics

+10

View gallery

But before the duo skate away in to the sunset, they will do a final tour next year, and they will continue to judge the celebrities as they take to the ice

+10

View gallery

The pair’s possible departure from the show could be the final nail in the coffin as the competition would lose one of its biggest draws, despite their plans to stay on as coaches and judges

The British skating duo will embark on one final UK tour next year, which will be their swansong and mark 50 years since they formed their skating partnership in 1975.

Announcing their retirement in February, Dean said that the pair had agreed it was the ‘right time’ to stop skating as they are ‘not spring chickens anymore’ and want to walk away while they’re still able to do it ‘to a certain degree.’

‘I think there comes a time when you know,’ said Dean. ‘We’re not spring chickens anymore but we’re still able to do it to a certain degree that we feel good about it but that will go.

‘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.’

He said that they are looking at the tour as a ‘celebration’ but predicts they will feel emotional about their final skate the nearer is gets.

‘We’ll have a sense of pride as well, I think, of what we’ve done and still been able to do over the years, bringing competitive skating and competitions and then entertainment through the TV screen,’ he said. ‘I think we’ll get reflective and look at it not in a sad way but in a happy way.’

The January 2025 issue of Prima is now on sale.