Gold medal winning Olympic heroes Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are set to receive top honours from HM King Charles III this New Year – over 40 years after they triumphed in Sarajevo
Olympic legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean will soon be a Dame and a Sir – as they are expected to recieve titles in the King’s New Year Honours. The duo are national champions – having won gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics, and later bronze at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Now, after five decades in the rink – and following the end of ITV’s Dancing On Ice – the pair are set to be rewarded by His Majesty King Charles III. Next week, the monarch will issue special titles to a number of individuals to celebrate their astonishing contributions to the nation.
Nottinghamshire star Jayne, 68, and 67-year-old Christopher – who is from the same county – are among names expected to be called to receive their rewards. The new titles follow on from previous honours that had been granted by the late Queen Elizabeth II, as the pair received MBEs in 1981 and OBEs in 2000.
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Now The Sun has reported that “[They] will now [be] made a Dame and Knight in the New Year. Their gongs are a recognition of a lifetime of service to figure skating which has won them millions of fans, including royalty.” The Mirror has contacted a representative of the ice skating legends for comment.
The late Queen Elizabeth II reportedly sent Torvill and Dean a personal telegram following their 1984 gold medal win. The late monarch wrote: “Many congratulations on your superb performance which I watched with great pleasure and which brought you such a well-deserved gold medal.”
While the winter sport athletes were said to be greatly touched by the message – and were awestruck when they met her years later while receiving past honours. The Sun quotes Christopher saying: “It was quite a journey meeting the Queen on these occasions. She was a wonderful, wonderful woman and monarch.”
He even recalled writing to her soon before her death in 2022 – and being floored when she wrote back. He said: “I was so touched. I didn’t even expect to get a reply. I think we all hold our heads higher when we are abroad because of what the Queen represented.” He added: “Everybody around the world knows about the monarch. I think we are all proud of that, wherever we go.”
The news of new titles marks the end of a mixed year for Torvill and Dean – which began with a damp note as ITV mercifully axed Dancing On Ice after it had been on the air on and off since 2006. The skating contest saw celebrities get matched with professional ice skaters and learn to pull off daring routines in front of a panel of judges – which included the Olympic icons.
But by the 2025 season, viewership had nosedived to three million – a steep decline from the heady days when the show would enjoy audiences in excess of 10 million. And the series was also something of collateral damage to the Phillip Schofield scandal – as he was forced to quit ITV after being found to have lied about an affair with a much younger colleague from his job on This Morning.
Earlier this year, the duo embarked on a farewell tour as they danced on ice for fans up and down the country for the last time. During a performance in April, fans were horrified when Jayne suffered a terrifying fall while on the rink. However, she quickly brushed herself off and continued the remainder of the show with her co-star.
Following the incident, Christopher told the audience: “Thank you so much. As you can see, sometimes it gets scary out here. Scary, scary – for Jayne anyway.” He went on to thank fans for attending their final tour.
Christopher said: “It has been a terrific show and thank you to my wonderful skaters here and to Jayne. We are really honoured that you spend your time to come out and see us on a Sunday afternoon and share some of our 50-year career highlights. It’s been so memorable and we will always remember today. Thank you for your memories everyone.”
The talented duo, who rose to fame with their performance at the 1984 Winter Olympics, kicked off their final tour in April. Christopher and Jayne first came together in 1975 before stunning at the Olympics. Their farewell tour, titled Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance, ran until the early months of the summer.
After their final show in July, the pair shared footage of themselves partaking in their final skate and uploaded the video to Instagram. They wrote in an emotional caption: “Farewell to the ice. Thank you for all the wonderful memories #OurLastDance.”
Source: Mirror
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