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When Torvill and Dean reunited after 30 years to perform their life-changing Olympic gold Boléro routine
14 February 2024, 09:37
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean reunited in 2014 for special performance of their 30-year-old Olympic gold medal routine on ITV's Dancing On Ice.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are the darlings of British ice-skating and in recent years the stars of ITV's Dancing On Ice.
Back in 1984, the pair accomplished a routine so sensational it won them not only an Olympic gold medal but a place in the history books as one of the greatest sporting moments of all time.
The dancing pair were representing the UK in Sarajevo, Bosnia when they took to the ice and gave a beautiful self-choreographed performance to Maurice Ravel's Boléro.
Over 24 million people tuned in to watch as the young dancers stunned with the incredible routine, earning them the status of the highest-scoring figure skaters in the history of the sport.
The moment turned out to be so significant that in 2002, a UK poll conducted by Channel 4 saw the glorious gold-winning moment be voted number 8 in the top 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
So it comes as no surprise that when Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean agreed to recreate their famous routine 30 years later in 2014, the British viewing public was beside themselves with nostalgic joy.
Dancing On Ice 2014 | Week 10 Bolero - Torvill and Dean | ITV
The 55-year-old Jayne Torvill and 54-year-old Christopher Dean took the ice rink on Dancing On Ice and gave a perfect reenactment of their world-famous routine.
Complete with cheers from the audience and awe from the show's contestants, the two proved why they went on to be crowned former British, European, Olympic and World champions after their sensational gold medal win in 1984.
Torvill and Dean met in 1975 as teenagers, earning their first trophy in 1976 and winning fifth place at their first Olympics in 1980, just four years before their perfect gold-winning score in 1984.
In a 2013 interview on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, they revealed that they did “dabble” in romance as teenagers.
Torvill & Dean Bolero 1984 Olympic Winning Routine
“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.
Yet, despite years of rumours that the two are romantically involved, Torvill and Dean are in happy relationships with other people.
Jayne Torvill currently lives in East Sussex with her husband Phil Christensen, son Kieran and daughter Jessica and since 2011 Christopher Dean has been in a relationship with fellow English ice skater and Dancing on Ice star Karen Barber.
In 2024, Torvill and Dean announced their retirement from figure skating, and will bow out with a UK tour.
