Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's romantic lives in their own words

25 December 2023 , 18:00

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Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have had a close friendship since the 1970s (Image: ITV)

Emmerdale fans had a surprise this festive season as Olympic legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean arrived in the ‘dales for an unexpected cameo.

The gold medal winning champion ice skaters have a long history together - having performed as a duo since 1975. Now, most famously, 66-year-old Jayne and 65-year-old Christopher are sharing their ice skating expertise as judges on ITV’s Dancing On Ice - which they have featured on since the show first began back in 2006.

But it was ITV’s soap Emmerdale that shocked fans on Christmas Day as the star couple popped up for a scene. The duo visited sets in Leeds to take part in the festive special episode of the long-running soap - and had quite a fun time, according to the duo themselves.

Christopher said said of his cameo: “It is amazing being here. We have jumped from watching Emmerdale on TV to being in a scene. From the screen to the scene. I’m loving it.”

Torvill and Dean found gold medal glory at the 1984 Winter Olympics - and won bronze at the 1994 games (Getty Images)

While Jayne added: “I can’t wait to watch the episode that we are going to be in. It will be surreal sitting at home watching it.” Emmerdale Producer, Laura Shaw, gave some insight into how the two became involved in the show, explaining: “We are delighted to welcome Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean as our very special guests to Emmerdale. Torvill and Dean certainly promise to bring the Christmas magic sparkle to the show. “

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The sport champions have long drawn interest in their relationship thanks to the intimate routines they have carried out over the years. And while they have a phenomenal chemistry on the ice, Jayne and Christopher have never dated away from the rink.

Jayne previously opened up about their first ever meeting, telling the Radio Times: "My first memory of Chris is seeing him at the ice rink one Saturday afternoon in 1971. He stood out because he was whizzing around so fast and had blonde hair. That’s when I named him the Blonde Prince."

The duo now star on ITV's Dancing On Ice as expert judges (ITV)

And while no romance ever formed between the pair, they did kiss one time. Jayne admitted: "We did actually kiss once – before we were a skating couple. We were in the back of the bus going to a league match, and it just happened. It was a one-off. We never talked about it afterwards. We laugh about it now."

The pair have, however, enjoyed successful romances of their own - with Jayne marrying Phil Christensen in 1990 and they share two adopted children together. While Christopher has been married twice before, is a father of two sons, and has been dating girlfriend Karen Barber since 2011.

Christopher has worked hard to keep his relationship out of the public eye, and said in a statement in 2011: "We have been great friends for more than 30 years. Following recent media speculation, we feel the necessity to confirm that this year has seen a change in our relationship, but we are taking things very slowly, as it is early days. We'd very much like to thank our dear friends, who have been so incredibly supportive to us. We both have families with children, so we ask the media to please respect their privacy."

While of his relationship with Jayne, Christopher has made it clear that his feelings for are nothing more than platonic. He told the Radio Times: "I love Jayne. But in a passionate friend way."

Mirror.co.uk