Skating Celebs

The latest Dancing On Ice Live Tour, which gets under way in London tonight, promises to be one of the most competitive ever, say judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean

Daily Express Friday March 23 2018

tHERE’S something about putting a pair of ice skates on a celebrity who has made their name in a completely different field that brings out the gladiator in them. And the rivalry among the line-up for the latest Dancing On Ice Live UK Tour is looking as intense as ever according to Christopher Dean, who – along with his ice dancing partner Jayne Torvill – will judge their performances when the action gets under way in London tonight.

“Jake Quickenden won the series but we’ve got Ray Quinn coming back who is the champion of champions,” says Dean, 59, who was catapulted to fame when he and Torvill won gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics. “We haven’t seen them going head-to-head so there’s going to be some really tough competition every night.”

But Torvill, 60, isn’t so sure that these two are the only ones in contention for the top spot. “We’ve also got Max Evans who was in the final, so he’ll be trying to push himself,” she says. “He’s obviously very competitive being a sportsman.”

The spin-off from ITV’s Sunday night start-of-year staple is back after a four-year sabbatical with the TV presenter Denise Van Outen serving on the judging panel alongside Torvill and Dean, who will also be assessing Alex Beresford, Cheryl HATS IN THE RINK: The skaters, left to right, Alex Beresford, Ray Quinn, Jake Quickenden, Cheryl Baker, Max Evans, Donna Air and Kem Cetinay Baker, Donna Air and Kem Cetinay (see panel below right).

Dean insists fans will be in for a treat because a live tour means the celebrities will be able to rehearse over and over, ensuring they’ll be far more polished than they were on TV. He adds: “We’re expecting them to get better all the time. They’ll be performing the same number so they’ll get more confident.”

He began dancing with Torvill in 1975 when he was 16 and she was 17 and 43 years later they remain extremely close. Dean said recently that he and Torvill still talk virtually every day and made a pact years ago, while still training, that any time they spent arguing was “time lost”, so they simply don’t bother.

Apart from a few more aching limbs to contend with these days, Torvill harbours no fears about getting back on the ice, particularly after brushing off the cobwebs when they performed for the first time in four years in the TV show’s live final last month. “We’ve been doing this for more years than we haven’t,” she adds. “It was nice to perform again in the final and we’re just looking forward to getting back on the ice and doing it again.”

Following their incredible performance at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo when they picked up 12 perfect 6.0s and six 5.9s for a routine to the music of Ravel’s ballet score Bolero, the pair both gained national treasure status.

Their performance was watched by 24 million people and in their home city of Nottingham two streets on a housing estate were named Torvill Drive and Dean Close. To this day the city’s National Ice Centre is accessed through Bolero Square.

Despite admitting having a brief kiss as teenagers they’ve never been an item romantically and both have other halves.

Torvill has been married to sound engineer Phil Christensen, with whom she has a son Kieran and daughter Jessica, since 1990, while twice-married Dean has been in a relationship with ex-DOI head judge Karen Barber for the past seven years.

Torvill and Dean once enjoyed a brief foray into the world of pantomime, co-starring in Cinderella at the Bristol Hippodrome where they performed on roller skates. Dean admits he didn’t realise just how demanding it would be: “Skating is a physical thing but it’s a mental thing when you’re doing pantomime, two shows a day and you’re inside the whole time. It’s great but you feel like you become a bit like a creature under a rock. You wake up in the morning when it’s dark and don’t leave the theatre at night until it’s dark so you hardly see any daylight. It’s only a six-week run but it’s a very vigorous six weeks.”

Fortunately for him, perhaps, the DOI Tour is only three weeks long.

Dancing On Ice Live UK Tour, until April 15. For details go to: dancingonicetour.co.uk