‘How do I get down?’ Torvill and Dean on the highs and lows of their lives

They produced a near-perfect Winter Olympics performance in 1984. But that was just one high point in the long ice-skating partnership between Jayne Torvill, 67, and Christopher Dean, 66.

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. “We became a partnership in every sense,” Torville says. “Everything revolved around skating.”Credit: Joe Armao

Chris: The Nottingham ice rink at 6am isn’t the most hospitable place. It’s cavernous, dark and dank, and rats scurry around when you switch the lights on. That’s where I met Jayne, on a cold, Thursday morning, when we were 15.

The first thing our coach did was put us into a dance hold, a waltz position, face to face. She pushed us together so that our noses were a few inches apart, then left us there. We didn’t know what to say or do, just eyes skirting all around, not wanting to move. Five minutes later, she came back out: “Well, you’ve passed the first test; you stayed there.”

We were both a bit timid and shy, but we wanted to skate. We both left school early – Jayne had started in an office job, and I had joined the police cadets. Wanting to win at the Olympics was never our goal; one thing really just led to another.

We won a grant, too, and Jayne was the accountant, recording everything we spent. But I also had to add extra time to our schedule, knowing that Jayne would always be late. She’s the sort of girl who likes to step on the plane as they’re closing the doors, whereas I like to be there an hour-and-a-half beforehand.

Despite that yin and yang, we trained extremely hard together. Never missed a session. If Jayne was ever injured or didn’t feel well or it was that time of the month, she’d push through because the four minutes you have to perform at the Olympics might be like that. She didn’t want to be an injury away from obscurity.

‘I was in America and she was in England, but we’d call every day: we’ve always been there for each other, for big things and small.’

Christopher Dean

I probably drove the partnership in a choreographic way, and Jayne was the stability and consistency that would take the idea and put it into practice: “You talk about going up,” she’d say, “but how do I get down?” We had points of friction, but we also never left the ice mid-quarrel, a bit like a married couple: don’t go to bed on an argument.

When you skate together as we do, everything is shared. Your thoughts and feelings become entwined. At the Olympics in 1984, we were in such a hypnotic place, and there was that huge sense of euphoric release. Then we transitioned from sportspeople to entertainers – skating with Yo Yo Ma or on natural ice on a lake in Alaska – and that gave us a second lease on life.

Jayne had a hard time with babies. Eventually, she adopted, but that was a really tough time for her. I was in America and she was in England, but we’d call every day: we’ve always been there for each other, for big things and small. We’re both avid followers of Coronation Street. If one of us misses an episode, we’ll catch each other up.

It’s not a brother-and-sister thing, and it’s not a marriage, either – we work together, but we’re deep, deep friends, and we enjoy what we’re doing, even in the twilight of what we can do. That final performance will be quite an emotional thing, but we’ll probably always be together, death do us part, as friends.

Jayne: When someone new comes to the rink, you notice them. I noticed Chris because he was very blond; I called him “the blond prince”. He was probably 10, and I remember he kept going around really fast, but he was sort of out of control, not really stable on his feet, and falling down a lot. Chris was always a daredevil.

We were 15 when we got paired up. I think both of us were very guarded initially because we were just kids, really. Chris is a funny guy, but that didn’t come out at that age. Instead, I got an immediate impression that he wanted to do well, and do the best he could and be the best. He’d accept mistakes but also want to get it right. To have someone driving you like that was a good thing.

Chris had all these ideas, too. That was one of his strengths. His weakness? He was always very impatient. Being in the police force, Chris was always on time – which actually meant 10 minutes early – while I was always within seconds of being late, which used to frustrate him.

But we became a partnership in every sense. Everything revolved around skating. We won and did well, and competed internationally. We often couldn’t afford to bring our coach, so it was just the two of us, 17 and travelling the world alone, together.

‘We married other people but never lost that closeness: we had our own universe on the ice.’

Jayne Torvill

When you get ready to perform, you start stretching, and I remember that Chris would pace up and down in the corridor, and I’d just watch him. He’d give us the nod when it was time, and we’d head to the edge of the ice, no words, because you know what you’re going to do. Chris would always squeeze my hand, and we’d look at each other, and off we went.

There’s always nervous excitement before you go out to skate because you know that any mistake could be really costly. But I don’t remember Chris making any mistakes in competition, which was quite annoying. In that sense, 1984 was the pinnacle of everything we’d worked for. We couldn’t believe how many perfect scores we got. But sitting in a toilet immediately afterwards, waiting to give a sample for a doping test, brings you back down to earth!

I left it quite late to start a family and naively thought there wasn’t a body-clock ticking. It got to the point where I pursued adoption – a wonderful boy and girl – but it was a long, long road, and Chris was always there.

We married other people but never lost that friendship and closeness: we had our own universe on the ice.

We’ve known this end point would come and, at the moment, we’re excited by the creative process, but as we get down the line, as much as we love the buzz, it’s OK. It might be time to rest.

Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance is in Melbourne on June 18-19 (Rod Laver Arena) and Sydney on June 21-22 (Qudos Bank Arena).

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