Torvill and Dean role made me grow as an actor – Will Tudor

The programme about Torvill and Dean airs on Christmas Day.

By Julia Hunt, Press Association Entertainment Correspondent

Will Tudor has said channelling ice-skater Christopher Dean’s drive and determination in a TV drama about Torvill and Dean helped him grow as an actor.

Tudor and actress Poppy Lee Friar play the ice dancers in one-off ITV programme Torvill & Dean, which tells the story of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s early years and the creative impetus that drove them to become royalty on the ice.

Both said they could see similarities between themselves as actors, and Torvill and Dean as skaters.

Friar said: “You just have to believe in yourself, they obviously believed in themselves and what they were doing, that was the drive keeping them going.

“It was almost an obsession, you have to have all of those things to survive as an actor.”

Tudor added: “It released in me my own tendencies which were quite similar to what was in the script, determination.

“The discipline that Torvill and Dean had did feel very familiar.

“In a way, coming from this job has made me grow as an actor by studying another creative art form, see how people deal with that and channel it.”

The actors both said the programme, which airs on Christmas Day, is an “emotional” look at Torvill and Dean’s rise.

“It is a very honest portrayal of their story,” said Tudor.

“I think that’s what the public will really like.

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“Being able to see behind these perfect routines.

“It’s a very moving story in that regard as you really see the human side of them.”

Torvill & Dean will air on ITV on Christmas Day.