Christopher Dean facts: Dancing on Ice star's age, wife, and relationship with Jayne Torvill revealed

26 January 2023, 15:56

Christopher Dean was half of one of the most iconic duos of the 1980s: Torvill and Dean but who is he? Who is his wife Karen Barber? Facts revealed.

Christopher Dean is one half of Britain's most famous ice skating duo alongside Jayne Torvill and is now a judge on one of ITV's biggest shows, Dancing On Ice, alongside fellow judges Jayne, Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse.

• When Torvill and Dean reunited after 30 years to perform their life-changing Olympic gold Boléro routine
• Torvill and Dean perform incredible one-shot routine with a drone on Dancing on Ice
• Torvill and Dean perform flawless routine to Frank Sinatra's 'Fly Me To The Moon' at Dancing On Ice final

But who is he? How old is he? And who is his wife?

Here are all the facts you need to know about Christopher Dean:

1. Who is Christopher Dean?

   

   Torvill and Dean's incredible performance at the Dancing On Ice finale

   Christopher Dean is an English ice dancer. With Jayne Torvill, he won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

   They also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, becoming one of the oldest figure skating Olympic medalists.

   They took a break from skating in 1998, and returned in 2006 as judges and coaches on ITV competition Dancing on Ice.

   Their performance at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, along to the music of Maurice Ravel's 'Boléro', made them world-famous stars.

   They received 12 perfect 6.0 marks, and was one of the most popular achievements in the history of British sport, watched by a UK TV audience of 24 million people.

2. What is Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's relationship?

   

   Torvill and Dean started skating together as teenagers. They were introduced after Torvill had been skating for nine years and Dean for six years.

   They had both won British junior pairs championships before, but needed a new partner.

   In a 2013 interview on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, they revealed that they did “dabble” in romance as teenagers.

   “We were in the back of the bus going to a league match, and it just happened. It was a one-off. We never talked about it afterwards. We laugh about it now,” Torvill told the Radio Times.

3. Christopher Dean age: How old is he?

   Christopher Dean was born on July 27, 1958. He celebrated his 64th birthday in 2022.

   He grew up in Calverton, Nottinghamshire. Aged six, his mother left the family and another woman took her place. He later revealed that he never talked about this with his father or stepmother, both of whom have died. He has however regained contact with his mother.

   From 1974 to 1980, he paused his ice skating career to become a police constable with Nottinghamshire Police.

4. Christopher Dean wife and family: Is he married to Karen Barber?

   Just relaxing with a polar bear x pic.twitter.com/EYKLLeXNU2

   — Karen Barber (@Woo2Kaz) December 6, 2018

   From 1991 to 1993, Dean was married to French-Canadian World ice dance champion Isabelle Duchesnay.

   In 1994, He married American skater Jill Trenary. They had two sons, Jack Robert and Sam Colin. In 2010, they confirmed their separation, but remain on good terms.

   Since 2011, he has been in a relationship with fellow English ice skater and Dancing on Ice star Karen Barber.