Ice partners for 44 years... but how well do they really know each other?
of Chris losing his dad, who brought him up after his mum abandoned him at the age of six. Chris was there for Jayne, married to sound engineer Phil Christensen for 28 years, throughout her painful IVF attempts.
Jayne – who has a 12-year old daughter Jessica and son Kieran, 16 – was Chris’s confidante throughout the breakdown of his two marriages.
His first wife, French-Canadian ice dance champion Isabelle Duchesnay, said she felt there were three in their two-year marriage. But he remains on good terms with his second wife, US skater Jill Ternary with whom he shares two sons, Jack, 20, and Sam, 18.
Chris and Jill separated in 2010 and the following year his affair with fellow Dancing on Ice star judge Karen Barber was exposed. The couple are still happily together. Will they marry? “You never know,” says Chris.
No matter which celebs take to the rink, Jayne and Chris are the real stars of the ITV show. This series was the most dramatic yet thanks to all the antics of Towie’s Gemma Collins.
“It’s definitely calmer since Gemma left,” says Jayne. “She was always very outgoing and funny talking about herself.” Chris, who lives in Colorado, adds: “Gemma’s quite outrageous and outspoken, people like to hear that. But nobody’s bigger than the show.”
The hit series, hosted by Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield, has won Jayne and Chris a new generation of fans. And a social media campaign in their home city of Nottingham, wants them to get a knighthood. “We’d be very humbled to receive any kind of recognition,” says Chris, adding: “We’d never turn it down.”
■ Dancing on Ice, ITV tomorrow, 6pm. Jayne: Chris is always extra early for everything. If I’m not there when he thinks I should be there he calls and says ‘Where are you?’ even though I’ve got plenty of time.
It’s probably to do with his time in the police force.
Chris: Being late. Jayne just arrives on time but I arrive before time. If I’m not ten minutes early I feel ten minutes late.
I always tell Jayne a meeting time 20 minutes before we need to meet so she’ll be on time. Jayne: Some years ago Chris bought me a pair of earrings for a birthday. He’d asked me for hints of what I’d like and I said I liked some Cartier earrings which are expensive.
But when I was wearing them one day someone said ‘I don’t think they’re real’. I quizzed him and said I wasn’t sure they were Cartier. He remembered he didn’t go to a Cartier shop but a shop that said it sold Cartier.
But then, because he’s so nice, he went to Cartier shop and bought the real ones. They are three intertwined circles and I wear them all the time. So they were my worst and best presents.
Chris: This sounds corny...but her friendship. What more can you give someone but time? and he was desperate to see it. He’s a super fan and watches it in America. Chris: Jayne likes to shop as a release. Jayne: When Elton John presented us with a Sports Personality of the Year award Chris wore a black and white checked jacket with big shoulders. People always talk about that.
Chris: We had an incident when we were skating in New York and Jayne had a wardrobe malfunction on her top half. I told her about it but she didn’t believe me. But we had friends in the audience who took photos.
I know Jayne will say my black and white jacket but it was the 80s and at the time it felt cool. Jayne: Chris’s timekeeping. But although we might disagree on certain things, it never gets angry any more. We might get frustrated and things get more heated when we’re trying new moves on the ice if they keep going wrong.
Chris: We don’t argue any more. We used to, about skating and getting something right. But we’ve mellowed. Jayne: Can’t think of one because Chris has so many – he’s so talented. Chris: Jayne can do a high kick now and then. I haven’t seen it for a while, so maybe on a good day. BEST FRIENDS Jane & Chris
If Jayne gives me a gift, she likes to see me use it. If she bought me a pen, she’d say ‘Oh – where’s your pen?’
I remember buying her look-alike earrings in Australia but hadn’t realised they weren’t the real deal.
It was over 30 years ago and with my first pay packet and Jayne has worn then every day and each time she skates, so they’re in some way I like to think they’re symbolic of our friendship. Jayne: During one of our professional shows with the Russian All Stars Chris was carrying me quite high in a lift and skating backwards. But he mistook the direction he was heading in, so I jumped off his shoulders because I could see he was going the wrong way. He fell backwards over the low barrier. Suddenly his legs were in the air. It was an Egyptian number so he was wearing a little skirt.
Chris: Jayne’s wardrobe malfunction.
Jayne: laugh.
Chris: Jayne because she has a dry humour – I’m more sarcastic.
Chris – he always makes me
Jayne:
Chris: On any given day it could be either of us. But most probably it would be Jayne.
We both say each other.