Jayne Torvill

Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. She and her partner Christopher Dean are considered amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time.^[2] The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics, as well as a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, becoming one of the oldest figure skating Olympic medalists. They were also four-time world and European champions and seven-time British champions.

Jayne Torvill OBE
Torvill on the Dancing on Ice tour in Manchester, 2010
Born	(1957-10-07) 7 October 1957 (age 67) Clifton, Nottingham, England
Height	5 ft 2.5 in (1.59 m)[1]
Figure skating career
Country	Great Britain
Retired	1984, 1994
Medal record Figure skating Ice dancing Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games 1994 Lillehammer Ice dancing 1984 Sarajevo Ice dancing World Championships 1984 Ottawa Ice dancing 1983 Helsinki Ice dancing 1982 Copenhagen Ice dancing 1981 Hartford Ice dancing European Championships 1994 Copenhagen Ice dancing 1984 Budapest Ice dancing 1982 Lyon Ice dancing 1981 Innsbruck Ice dancing

Early life

Torvill was born in Clifton, Nottingham, England, and grew up in Nottingham.^[3] She attended Clifton Hall Girls' Grammar School and worked in the city as an insurance clerk at Norwich Union.^[3]

Ice dance career

See also: Torvill and Dean § Careers

She became hooked on ice skating at age 8 following an after-school trip to the local ice rink. In 1971 at age 14, Torvill won gold at the British Pairs Figure Skating Championship with her then-partner Michael Hutchinson.^[3] They also took silver in 1970 and 1972.^[3]

After parting from Hutchinson, Torvill continued to skate on her own for a while before deciding to team up with Christopher Dean in 1975.^[3] On placing 5th in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, Dean gave up his job as a policeman and Torvill gave up hers as an insurance clerk to skate together full-time.^[3]

Torvill and Dean performing in 2011

Torvill and Dean's free programme at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, performed to the music of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, which had to be cut down from 17 minutes to just 4 minutes.^[3] They received twelve perfect 6.0 marks, one of five occasions they were awarded all perfect scores for artistic impression. It was one of the most popular achievements in the history of British sport, watched by a British television audience of 24 million people.^[4][5] Since the time limit was four minutes and ten seconds and their music was four minutes 28 seconds, they began on their knees and moved their bodies to the music for 18 seconds before starting to skate.^[6][7]

Torvill and Dean turned professional after their 1984 Olympic win and under then-existing Olympic Committee rules their professional status made them ineligible to compete in the Olympics again. However, in 1993 the International Skating Union relaxed the rules for professional skaters, allowing the pair to participate in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer where they won a bronze medal. Torvill took a seven-year break from skating from 1998 to 2005.^[8]

From January 2006 to March 2025, she and Dean have participated in the ITV show Dancing on Ice as "judges".^[8][9][10] Each season, the show runs from January to March and then goes on tour to arenas across the United Kingdom. In November 2011, Torvill said, "the standard each year has gotten higher and higher, which is exciting for us – to think what we can achieve with people who have never skated or are relatively unknown to skating." Dancing on Ice ended on ITV after 19 years due to a drop in ratings.^[8]

Torvill and Dean were ambassadors for the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England.^[11] In February 2014, Torvill and Dean visited Sarajevo for the 30th anniversary of the 1984 Olympics, and recreated their Bolero routine in the same arena where they won the gold.^[12]

Personal life

Torvill married Phil Christensen in 1990, and they are parents of two children.^[3]

In 1993, she and Dean were awarded Honorary Master of Arts degrees by Nottingham Trent University for services to ice dance and their contribution to its development as a creative art.^[3]

Competitive results

Pair skating with Hutchinson

International
Event	1971	1972	1973
European Championships		18th
National
British Championships	2nd	1st	2nd

Amateur results with Dean

Event	75–76	76–77	77–78	78–79	79–80	80–81	81–82	82–83	83–84	93–94
Olympics					5th				1st	3rd
Worlds			11th	8th	4th	1st	1st	1st	1st
Europeans			9th	6th	4th	1st	1st	WD	1st	1st
British Championships		4th	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
NHK Trophy					2nd
St Ivel International						1st	1st
Oberstdorf		2nd	1st
St Gervais		1st
Morzine Trophy				2nd
John Davis Trophy			1st
Sheffield Trophy		1st
Rotary Watches Competition				2nd
Northern Championships	1st
WD: Withdrew

Professional results with Dean

Event	1984	1985	1990	1994	1995	1996
World Professional Championships	1st	1st	1st		1st	1st
Challenge of Champions			1st		1st	1st
World Team Championship				3rd	1st	1st

Professional programmes

See also: Torvill_and_Dean § The professional years 1984–1998

	1984	1985	1990	1994	1995	1996
World Professional Championships	Song of India, Encounter	Diablo Tango, Venus	Oscar Tango, Revolution / Imagine	Encounter	Still Crazy After All These Years, Cecilia	Take Five, Hat Trick
Challenge of Champions			Echoes of Ireland		Still Crazy After All These Years, Cecilia	Take Five, Hat Trick
World Team Championships				Let's Face the Music, Encounter	Bridge Over Troubled Water, Cecilia	Sarabande, Hat Trick

Amateur programmes

	OSP/ORD	Free Dance	Exhibitions
1978		The Great Waldo Pepper
1979	Masquerade	Slaughter on Tenth Avenue[13]	Evergreen[14]
1980	A Little Street in Singapore	Sing Sing Sing etc.[15]	Puttin' On the Ritz
1981	Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)	Fame etc.[16]	History of Love (version 1)[17]
1982	Summertime[18]	Mack and Mabel[19]	The Hop, Kiss Me Kate, Fast Tap
1983	Rock n Roll	Barnum[20]	Putting on the Ritz
1984	Paso Doble	Boléro[21]	I Won't Send Roses[22]
1994	History of Love (version 2)[23]	Let's Face the Music[24]	Boléro[21]

In popular culture

Torvill was portrayed by Poppy Lee Friar in the 2018 biopic Torvill & Dean.

See also

• Torvill and Dean