This is who will play Torvill & Dean in a new TV drama

24 July 2018, 10:44

ITV has announced details of a new drama about Torvill & Dean.

Torvill & Dean will be a dramatization of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's early years as an ice skating duo, and their rise to become the royal couple of the sport.

Written by Made in Dagenham's William Ivory, the two-hour film will star Game of Thrones actor Will Tudor as Dean, Ackley Bridge star Poppy Lee Friar as Torvill.

Meanwhile, EastEnders legend Anita Dobson will play Miss Perry, Jayne’s first coach at the Nottingham Ice Stadium, and DCI Banks star Stephen Tompkinson will appear as Jayne’s father George.

The film will tell the story of the pair's humble beginnings and family life in Nottingham, including how Chris channelled his anger over his parent's divorce into skating, and how Jayne was determined to delve into her inwardly passionate personality.

Torvill and Dean said of the project: “We feel very honoured that ITV have commissioned this film based on what was a very significant period in each of our lives.

"We have thoroughly enjoyed the time we have spent with William Ivory and the team at Darlow Smithson sharing experiences of our passion for skating, the life long friendship that came through our sport and everything that it took to achieve our eventual goal of becoming Olympic champions.”

Torvill and Dean are former British, European, Olympic and World champions. At the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics, they famously won gold and became the highest scoring figure skaters of all time for a single programme, receiving 12 perfect 6.0s and six 5.9s.

Their performance was watched by a British TV audience of more than 24 million people, and everyone began humming to Maurice Ravel's 'Boléro' for months to come.