30 April – 1 May Newcastle Utilita Arena
Torvill and Dean have spent a record half a century together as skating partners, during which time they have toured all over the world, competed at the highest standard of figure skating and won countless awards, most notably their gold medal winning performance of Ravel’s Bolero at the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Now, after fifty years, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are packing up their sequined costumes and bidding farewell to the sport that changed their lives. But before they do, they are set to embark on the final tour of their epic career, Our Last Dance.
Performing 34 shows across the UK, kicking off on 11 April at OVO Arena Wembley, the tour will include a very special updated performance of Bolero for 2025. It will also feature some Dancing on Ice skating favourites, including this year’s finalists Annette Dytrt and Mark Hanretty.
So why does now feel like the right moment to stop performing together after so many glorious achievements? Jayne explains: “We’ve had the most incredible time, and we always love skating and performing together, but as you get older, you can’t do all the things you used to easily. We still want to be able to do it all, but your body doesn’t let you, so you want to go out on a high. We keep ourselves fit and healthy, and we eat well and get plenty of rest, but we want to be able to go out feeling really, really good, and while we know we can still do a great job.”
Chris agrees. “Fifty years is a great number, and it feels right to say it’s time that we most probably retire or stop doing this whilst we still feel that we can perform it in a way that we’re used to.”
The duo announced their retirement from skating on February 14th 2024 – 40 years to the day since they took home gold at the Sarajevo Olympics for their breathtaking performance of Bolero. It earned them a place in the history books as one of the greatest sporting moments of the 20 th Century, it was watched across the UK by an audience of 24 million.
Our Last Dance is set to be a spectacular celebration of two of the UK’s most respected athletes, and Chris fills us in on what we can expect. “The show is a retrospective storytelling of our career from the very beginning until modern day, so it will include everything that’s been a big part of our journey. Our aim was always to make the show as spectacular as possible. We’re so grateful people still want to come and see us, and we want them to leave feeling like they’ve seen something special.”
Jayne admits the pair are thrilled to be able to perform for fans again, although there is some trepidation. “It’s both scary and exciting! We’ve been busy rehearsing since last summer, and now the tour is happening, we can’t wait to get out there and perform. We’ve got 15 incredible pro skaters coming on tour with us, and we’re building on some of our best-known numbers, like Face the Music and Mack and Mable, to make them big production numbers that involve all of the cast.”
The close friends will take away many incredible memories from their illustrious careers. “At the time, we had no idea how life-changing winning the Olympic gold would be for us,” Jayne smiles. “It gave us a lot of opportunities and opened so many doors. It’s a big part of the reason we’ve been able to do what we love for so long and enjoy every bit of it. We’ve had some incredible, unforgettable experiences. Princess Diana came to the opening night when we first did our first tour in the UK as professionals, which was very special.”
“We’ve done amazing things and met incredible people, like the Queen, Nancy and Ronald Reagan and Tom Cruise,” says Chris. “Sometimes, when we get asked about things we’ve forgotten, we can’t believe we’ve had the opportunity to do them. We still get taken aback.” Having lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace was a highlight. Prince Phillip was there, and the corgis were wandering around,” Chris remembers. “There were about 15 of us, and the footman served us in all their regalia. It was fantastic.”
Unlike today, where athletes have sponsors and support staff around them, ensuring everything goes according to plan, Chris reveals that when they entered the world of competitive skating, all the responsibility was at their door.
“We didn’t have anyone helping us when we started working together. These days, people have teams around them who arrange travel, costumes, and anything else that needs doing, but we didn’t have any of that. We booked our own flights, and once we were old enough to drive, we drove ourselves to rehearsals and competitions. We even organised our music.”
“The fact we did everything together and knew we always had each other certainly made it less scary for me, especially if we were flying abroad to compete,” continues Jayne. “We didn’t know much about life outside of skating, but we didn’t care to because we were happy doing what we were doing.”
Chris is thankful that social media didn’t exist when they began skating competitively. “When we were at the Olympic Village in 1984, there were no cell phones or computers. There was a single telephone box, and that was the only form of communication outside the village, so we lived in that bubble. Looking back, I think we learned some invaluable life lessons around that time. It helped us concentrate and stay focused because we weren’t constantly distracted. We haven’t grown up in the 15 minutes of fame era, as tends to happen now. It all happened over a long period, so we’ve grown with it. I think that really helped to keep our feet on the ground.”
Chris and Jayne will round off the tour in Nottingham in July, in the very same place where it all began. Chris says, “We’ll be performing to a home crowd at Motorpoint Arena. The arena is on the same site that the ice stadium used to be when Jayne and I started out all those years ago, so it feels like the perfect way to bring everything to a close.”
Have they already planned the final night’s party? “Not yet,” Jayne laughs. “I think we are just aiming to get to that point, but it seems very far off. We certainly don’t want the tour to go quickly. We want to enjoy it as much as possible, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to celebrate when the last night arrives!”
This may be a retirement of sorts for the legends, but no doubt we will still see them on TV, and they certainly don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. “I’ve always loved adventure sports, and motor racing has always been my passion,” Chris says. “I’m waiting to be offered a reality series where we can go racing! I did something fantastic called Formula Ford, which is open-wheel racing.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he is a fan of adrenaline sports. “I did a skydive, and I was going to get my license, but things got so busy. My son has got his licence, so I’m envious of him. I also like going to skiing and diving.”
While Chris is looking forward to the next adventure with partner Karen Barber,
Jayne and her family are “looking forward to not having a schedule.”
But they will still find time for each other. “We will always see each other and always
be connected in some way,” says Chris.
Jayne adds, “We’ll meet each other for lunch at our leisure! I imagine the end of the
tour is going to be emotional but at the moment it’s exciting because we’re going out
there to celebrate with the audience.”
Chris concludes: “Being able to go out and perform in front of an audience is still a
real thrill. We’re very honoured that people like to watch us perform and it’s such a
pleasure to be able to say hello, and thank you, one last time.”
Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance UK tour runs from 11 April – 12 July. For tickets,
see torvillanddean.com