Torvill and Dean happy to be icy judges of dance
OLYMPIC legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are getting used to life as judges on Dancing On Ice - and they’ve delivered their verdict on our big Manchester hopes for success on this year’s ITV show Corrie stars Antony Cotton and Brooke Vincent.
Alas, Torvill and Dean don’t reckon either Corrie favourite will make the final - and say they “both need to get stronger to stay in”.
Chris said: “I think Antony is mastering it more than Brooke is at the moment.”
Jayne added: “Antony really made a big step up a couple of weeks ago but then, unfortunately, he had an injury last week and I think it has knocked his confidence and Brooke came through.”
Chris said: “The audience will keep them in to a point, but from a skating point of view they need to get stronger to stay in.”
Yikes! So who do the ice icons reckon will take the Dancing On Ice crown in its big comeback year?
Chris said: “It seems a boy-dominated competition at the moment - certainly Kem [Cetinay] and Jake [Quickenden] are up there, but also Alex [Berseford] and Max [Evans].
“I also think Donna Air is in the mix too - she is looking really strong. The beauty of Dancing On Ice is that any given Sunday anything can happen.”
Jayne and Chris appear to be loving the switch from coach and mentors on their show to the opposite side of the table - delivering their truthful verdicts on the talent they see on the ice.
It proved rather controversial in the opening weeks of the show though, when both Jayne and Chris chose to keep singer Lemar on the show - even when he had a slip on the ice.
But Chris stands by their decisions, saying: “We will obviously vote towards the skating talent, of which Lemar has been a better skater. He made a mistake, but the standard was there.”
We’ll be seeing quite a lot of Chris and Jayne in Manchester over the next few weeks - as they’ll be on commentating duties for the Winter Olympics for the BBC at MediaCity, in between their Dancing On Ice filming commitments, as well as preparing for the big live tour of Dancing On Ice, at Manchester Arena in on April 2 and 4.
Kem Cetinay, Alex Beresford and two-time Dancing On Ice champion Ray Quinn will join the celebrity line-up for the live ice spectacular. And Torvill and Dean fans will be delighted to hear the tour will see their return to the ice.
Chris, 59, laughed: “We will be multitasking on tour! Presenting, judging and skating.
“We started rehearsals about three weeks ago for the first time on ice in four years together.
“The Bolero might be a step too far but we will be doing something that people will recognise.”
See manchester-arena.com