There were concerning scenes when the figure skating icon suffered a heavy fall during a show, prompting gasps from the audience
Ice dancing icons Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill are legends of their sport, but things can still go wrong even after 50 years of performing together.
Known around the world as Torvill and Dean, the skate partners will reflect on their remarkable careers in a new ITV documentary airing on Sunday night. It will see them relive their glory days, during which time they won an incredible 16 gold medals across world, European and British figure skating championships, as well as the Winter Olympics.
Their defining performance came at the 1984 Winter Games, where they secured the coveted ‘perfect’ score with their performance of Bolero. The extraordinary moment was watched by more than 24 million people, becoming one of the most-watched events in British television history.
Despite stepping away from competitive ice dancing in 1998, the duo have remained prominent figures in the entertainment world, taking on roles as coaches, and later judges, on ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
Last year, they announced their decision to retire from performing together, and brought the curtain down on their remarkable career with their farewell tour, Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance, which concluded earlier this year.
“Whilst we will continue to work together off the ice, this will be the final time we will skate together following our 50-year partnership,” they said in a statement.
“But not without celebrating one final time with all of our incredible fans across the UK, who have supported us constantly over many years.”.
After already gracing stages in London, Belfast, Sheffield, and Nottingham, their Birmingham performance took an unforeseen twist when Torvill stumbled and fell while they performed their legendary Bolero routine.
The fall occurred during their performance at the BP Pulse Live Arena on April 27, with the 67-year-old tumbling to the ice, drawing a collective gasp from those watching.
However, the veteran skater showed emarkable poise and professionalism as she picked herself up and carried on with the routine.
Despite this, the crowd were still concerned for Torvill’s wellbeing following the fall, leading Dean to provide some words of comfort to spectators.
“Thank you so much,” he said after the performance concluded. “As you can see, sometimes it gets scary out here. Scary, scary – for Jayne anyway.”
Expressing his gratitude to the audience, he added:”It has been a terrific show and thank you to my wonderful skaters here and to Jayne.
“We are really honoured that you spend your time to come out and see us on a Sunday afternoon and share some of our 50-year career highlights. It’s been so memorable and we will always remember today. Thank you for your memories everyone.”
According to a spokesperson for Torvill and Dean, the fall was caused by a hole in the ice. However, the rest of the tour thankfully passed without incident as they performed one last time in their home town of Nottingham in July.
