As they approach retirement, world ice skating champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have called their inclusion on the New Year’s honours list the “perfect” way to wrap up their careers.
Torvill and Dean have said the news that they will get OBEs was the “perfect” end to their careers. The Dancing On Ice judges were included in this year’s New Year’s Honours list for their services to ice skating and voluntary service.
Ice skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have had a decades long career, first taking to the ice together for a junior competition 50 years ago. During their career, they went to several Olympic games, taking gold in 1984 and bronze in 1994. They said the timing of their damehood and knighthood was “perfect” as they are hanging up their skates.
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Torvill referred to the knighthood as “our final tour this year, and that was a big deal for us.” We had a great time, and we were so pleased with our tour and how far it was.
It was important for us to mark our career before retiring, and when we received this award at the end of the year, everything has just come to an end. It is flawless.
Dean added that they were “happy now” and “retired”. During 2025, the pair released Torvill & Dean: The Last Dance, a documentary marking their 50 year career, culminating in one final dance. This year, their long running competition show, Dancing On Ice, was “rested” by ITV and there are no further plans for another series at present.
The 68-year-old Torvill added that she “could not believe it” when she received the letter declaring her intention to be a dame, especially during a brief period of ostensibly unmarried status. When Torvill and Dean described how Dean called her ex-Olympian partner and pressured him to check the letterbox, only to discover nothing there.
Thankfully, the letter arrived three days later. Dean said he thought it was “wondrous” to be “really humbled” and “to receive an OBE.”
After wrapping up their skates, Torvill and Dean kept saying they were “ready to pass the mantle on” to the upcoming British Olympic hopefuls. Lewis Gibson, who first ice skated after watching Dancing On Ice, and Lilah Fear will travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics next year. It would be the first time the GB had won a figure skating medal since 1994’s Torvill and Dean won the bronze medal at Lillehammer.
Dean claimed that he had “hope for the best” and that Gibson and Fear had a chance of winning. He added that Gibson’s inspiration from Dancing On Ice was viewed as a part of both he and Torvill’s ” legacy.”
Idris Elba, who was given a knighthood for her contributions to young people, Meera Syal, who received a damehood for her contributions to literature, drama, and charity, and Richard Osman, who received an OBE for contributions to literature and broadcasting, among others, were also given the New Year’s Honours list.
Source: Mirror
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