Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean reveal that if Dancing On Ice continues beyond new series they ‘won’t perform in it’ – after their retirement plans and falling ratings cast doubt on the skating show’s future

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have revealed that if Dancing On Ice continues after the upcoming series, they will no longer be appearing in it.

The Olympic skaters’ admission comes after both their retirement and declining ratings for the ITV show cast doubt on its future.

Speaking indoors Fine In the magazine’s January issue, Jayne and Chris talked about their plans to hang up their skates — and what that could mean for the ice dancing show they inspired.

The pair, known as Torvill and Dean, shot to fame when they won gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo with their iconic skate on Maurice Ravel’s Boléro – which is replicated every year by the Dancing On Ice finalists.

The skating stars surprise Dancing On Ice viewers every year as they take to the ice themselves, but they have now confirmed this will no longer be a feature if the show goes ahead after January.

“If Dancing on Ice continues after the next series we will still be part of that, but we won’t be performing in it as we normally do,” Jayne said. ‘We are only there for the judging.’

Speaking about their impending retirement, Jayne said: “We’ve been skating together for a long time and 2024 marks 40 years since we won the Olympics.

“But we realized that next year will be 50 years since we’ve been skating together, so it’s an important milestone in our careers, and the fact that we can still do it at some level is amazing.”

Chris added: “We can’t do it forever, but we wanted to at least be able to skate one last time. And I think 50 years is a significant number, and this is the right time for us. I think we did everything we could do while skating, except for one last performance.”

After the end of their competitive careers, Torvill and Dean began coaching and choreographing and touring regularly before becoming the faces of Dancing on Ice in 2006.

The future of the skating show was thrown into doubt after head judges Jayne and Christopher revealed they were ready to hang up their skates.

The ITV show will return to screens in January, but after that the future of the show will be known.

Television ratings for the competition have steadily declined over the years and former Olympic gold medalists are preparing for retirement, according to the Mirror.

This could mean that the show’s 17th series will last almost 20 years after it first aired.

But before the duo skates off into the sunset, they will do one final tour next year and will continue to judge the celebrities as they take to the ice.

The pair’s possible departure from the show could be the final nail in the coffin as the competition would lose one of its biggest draws despite their plans to stay on as coaches and judges.

Chris told the publication that the future of the show will be known by the end of the series.

He said: ‘We’ll know at the end of the series.

‘We would love it if the show continues. It’s been a renaissance for us. It started in 2006, so it’s almost 20 years of our lives too. We have been doing Dancing On Ice for longer than as competitors.’

His partner Jayne explained: ‘We were there from the start.’

The last series saw poor viewing figures, with one episode only managing to attract 2.9 million viewers, a stark contrast to the 12 million at its peak.

Another issue ITV producers will have to deal with is that the show’s 43-year-old presenter, Holly Willoughby, is reportedly keen to expand her career and try new things.

Despite their stars potentially moving on to greener pastures, ITV is still hoping its latest crop of stars, including Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave, 62, and Coronation Street actor Sam Aston, 31, will bring viewers back in.

The British skating duo will embark on a final UK tour next year, which will be their swan song and mark 50 years since they formed their skating partnership in 1975.

Announcing their retirement in February, Dean said the pair agreed now was the “right time” to retire from skating because they “aren’t spring chickens anymore and want to walk away while they still can” to some extent’. rank.’

“I guess there comes a time when you know,” Dean said. “We’re not spring chickens anymore, but we can still do it to a certain extent so we can feel good about it, but we can.

“So I think this is the right time for us to be able to do that and go skating and do some of the old routines, be very nostalgic, but then do some new fun, upbeat (dances) with friends from us from the skating world and from Dancing On Ice.’

He said they’re treating the tour as a “celebration,” but predicts they’ll get emotional about their final skate as it gets closer.

“We will also, I think, have a sense of pride in what we have done and continue to do over the years, bringing competitive skating and competitions and then entertainment through the TV screen,” he said. “I think we’ll think about it and look at it not in a sad way, but in a happy way.”

The January issue of Prima 2025 is now on sale.