The next series of Dancing on Ice will be the last, but golden skating couple Torvill and Dean don’t plan on hanging up their skates yet, as Steve Pratt reports

JAYNE Torvill has said it before and says it again. Ask her to name her dream contestant to take part in ITV’s Dancing On Ice and she replies, “David Beckham”.

Of course, there’s more chance he might actually say yes now he’s given up his day job.

Torvill and Dean, on the other hand, aren’t hanging up their skates any time soon, but they have announced that Dancing On Ice is ending.

The TV show, which is like ‘Strictly’ on skates and has celebrities learning to skate in a competition decided by the public vote, wouldn’t be anything without Olympic champions Torvill and Dean. They mentor celebrities as they slip and slide around the rink until the finalists skate their version of Bolero, the routine that won Jayne and Christopher top marks at the Sarajevo Olympics.

That was 30 years ago next year – an appropriate moment, the pair decided, to end Dancing On Ice. After that, they’ll take the 30th anniversary Bolero Dancing On Ice show on tour with Newcastle Metro Radio Arena and the new Leeds First Direct Arena among the stopping off points.

“The details of the tour haven’t been worked out yet,” says Dean. “What we want to do, is make it a ‘best-of’ show by inviting some of the best and favourite skaters to perform.”

But can it really be 30 years since the pair dazzled and delighted on the ice at the Olympics?

“Everyone’s life feels like ‘where did the time go?’ and think how quickly time’s gone. It seems like yesterday when we were competing and then the Olympics happened,” says Dean.

“Since winning,” continues Torvill, “we have realised what it meant to us and it has opened a lot of doors to other opportunities, but people still want to see Bolero. That’s how Dancing On Ice came about – people working towards the final to perform their version.”

In one way, their Bolero dance, a perfect blend of music and choreography on ice, was simply another routine. “We had been using Bolero as warmup music for 18 months because the music gave a nice gentle warm-up that came into a crescendo.

“When we were looking for a piece of music for the new routine, Bolero came up and we thought, ‘that’s a silly idea’. But the more we thought about it, the idea got stronger and became the only music we could skate to.

“The music from our point of view is so integral to what we do. We have to feel it and are passionate about it and we want people listening to succumb to it straight away.”

Just as their Olympic triumph sparked an interest in ice skating, so Dancing On Ice has stimulated the public’s interest in putting on skates themselves. “The challenge and aim for us was to teach celebrities who had not skated before. Ice skating became popular because of the programme,” says Torvill.

“We saw that lots of people were going into the public ice rinks and a lot of seasonal rinks popped up all over the country for people to have a go over the winter months.”

But Dean doesn’t think ice skating will become commonplace because it is a specialised sport. “It’s exhausting when you’re flying around on the ice.

I know we’ve been doing a long time, but we still are so committed to it and enjoy it and it challenges us every time we are doing something new,” he says.

They think now is the right time to saying goodbye to Dancing On Ice. “It’s better for us to feel we can go out on a high rather than with a wimper,” adds Dean.

Viewers and arena audiences will be expecting to see them dance the Bolero in its 30th anniversary year. What about a new piece? “There may be something original,” says Dean, enigmatically.

The end of Dancing On Ice shouldn’t be taken as a sign they’re hanging up their skates. Besides, they’ve already done the official retirement when they gave up competitions.

“At the moment we both feel we are in really good shape,” says Torvill. “When not working we’re at the gym running, cycling, doing exercise to keep our strength and fitness.”

Perhaps the main point is that they still enjoy their partnership on the ice. “It’s the pleasure we gain from it is when we’re rehearsing or when we’re skating.”

  • The final series of Dancing On Ice begins on ITV1 in January.
  • Torvill & Dean’s Bolero 30th anniversary Dancing On Ice Tour 2014, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, April 4-6, and Leeds First Direct Arena, April 24-27. Box office: Newcastle 0844-4936666 and Leeds 0844-24-1585 Online bookings ticketzone.co.uk Further information dancingonicetour.co.uk