Torvill and Dean fulfil their lifelong ambition with Alaskan challenge
Skating star Christopher Dean tells us more about duo’s sub-zero adventure
If somebody had said it five years ago, we wouldn’t have done it, but it’s the right timing – and it isn’t always of your own making,” remarks British ice-skating champion Christopher Dean of his latest sub-zero adventure.
Together with dance partner Jayne Torvill, the pair have swapped the confines of the Dancing On Ice rink for the expansive lakes of Alaska as part of new show Dancing On Thin Ice.
“It just felt like something new and fresh – something we hadn’t experienced,” he says.
“But at the same time, it had been a passion of ours, wanting to perform outdoors in a natural environment. As a kid, when I saw the skaters on the ice, there was this freedom and it’s like you’re flying, but when you’re on a lake and you can’t see the end of the lake, that was real freedom.”
Set to air on ITV this new year, the one-off special sees the duo venture to North America in a bid to fulfil their lifelong ambition of ice-skating on a natural rink surrounded by nature. Taking in some of the world’s most picturesque scenery, including glaciers, natural ponds and snow-dusted forests, the breathtaking cinematography is but a snapshot of what the US state has to offer.
What made you take on the challenge?
“It was a new challenge, a new experience, and something uplifting. It didn’t feel like ‘oh, we’re going to do this project and it’s another skating project’. This was more than that. It was more of a personal thing than anything.”
What was the biggest difference between skating in Alaska and on an ice rink?
“In an ice rink you skate round in circles and there’s a barrier, so the thought of being able to go to Alaska, to a lake that was miles and miles long and you could keep going one way, for me, that was mind-blowing. It was really being free.”
Climate change plays a key role in the show too, doesn’t it?
“It was a real personal thing to be able to go and do it, but also, it sort of turned into ‘being aware of climate change’ at the same time. The underlying story as well – where is the ice? It’s too warm at the moment and it’s not available here, so we’ve got to go here.
“Just talking to the locals and listening to them and their experience of the last five years – things have been getting warmer. They can noticeably see and feel it, so it’s almost chasing the ice and finding it. Not knowing whether we’re going to be able to complete our dream, this personal experience.”
Did Covid-19 impact filming or your ability to practise?
“It’s changed what we can do as individuals but not our schedule. I came over here to start prepping for Dancing On Ice and then I was going to go back to America. [In total] I’d have been 16 weeks in quarantine effectively, so I’ve stayed [in the UK] throughout, and we’ve been able to train, so we feel ready.”
● Dancing On Thin Ice airs on ITV on January 1