How Our Relationship Won Gold | Torvill & Dean

Iconic ice dancing duo Torvill and Dean sit down with Jake and Damian to reflect on their illustrious career spanning over 50 years.

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Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are a lengendary former British ice skating duo and 1984 Winter Olympics Champions. In this episode, they reflect on their early days, recalling the pivotal moment when they realised their potential as a duo. They highlight how their shared passion for skating and unwavering commitment to improvement bound them together for over five decades.

Delving into their creative process, Torvill and Dean recount the discovery of ‘Bolero’, the routine that would later become iconic for their 1984 Olympic success. They emphasise the dedication and discipline required for success, the challenges they faced, and their commitment to pushing the boundaries of their sport.

Looking back on their illustrious careers, the pair reveal their decision to retire after 50 years on the ice. With wisdom gleaned from a lifetime of skating, they embrace the idea of leaving the stage on their own terms, ready to embark on new adventures.

This conversation explores the insights behind Torvill and Dean’s dynamic partnership, and how they navigated tensions and dealt with failure to become two of Great Britain’s most celebrated Olympians.

0:00 Introduction
0:38 What Is High Performance?
2:31 50 Years Of Unity
7:55 🚨 Eight Sleep
9:02 Awkward Partners
12:20 The Story Of Bolero
21:07 It's All About Eye Contact
23:18 Keeping It Professional
25:41 What Is Hard Work?
30:47 🚨 Manual
31:47 Zeros To Heros
35:42 We Wouldn't Speak
40:17 Balancing Failure & Empathy
42:42 Dancing On Ice Doubts
45:34 Thank You
447:55 Quick-Fire Questions

#HighPerformance #TorvillandDean #JayneTorvill #ChristopherDean #DancingOnIce #IceSkating #Bolero #WinterOlympics #1984Olympics

[davidtuer]

I had seen T&D skate the Bolero but while admiring it had never considered it deeply. Then Christofer described the essence of the dance, a Romeo and Juliet type love story, where they throw themselves into a fiery pit at the end. I realised that we were not to see the dance in the interview and paused the interview to allow me to bring up their World Championship triumph. and re-view it. I was totally knocked out. At the end, where they throw themselves onto the ice (into the pit!!), the camera focussed on Janes face. For seconds she was waiting for the fire to devour them, then she opened up her eyes, basically rejoined us, and smiled slowly but in triumph. I don't think I took a breath as they finished, only when Jane knew they were alive once more. Wonderful, wonderful story telling, what a great pair they were (and still are in their twilight years).

[MeeMawTx]

Thank you for asking the "crossing the line" question. Their response reaffirmed what MANY of us fans thought for years. There was a romantic spark between them. However, even as late teenagers, they realized that having a relationship off the ice would definitely (and potentially negatively) impact their on-ice performance. Thus, they forfeited romance in order to have friendship and professional success. Their coach, Betty Calloway, put it this way, "They had this special contact with each other... I don't think they realized that Bolero was them."

[ronyagpd]

They changed ice dance for ever: that's some legacy for the history books!!

[lindaroland]

They were absolutely the greatest of all time. In their day, it was them above and beyond everyone else. No one even came close to them. I was fortunate enough to see them skate, live, at World’s in 81’, 82’ and 83’. Even their compulsory dances were superior. Anyway, to this day, I can still remember watching those routines and being completely in awe of them.

[marynoonan]

These two were absolutely ahead of their time. They make everything that came after them happen. They were the risktakers.

[aileenclarke]

That’s the first thing I noticed from the start all those years ago was the eye contact between Jane and Chris. They maintained that as they danced. Not just putting on a show for an audience, they were there doing the one thing they both loved. Always innovative, always in sync, always perfection, never flashy always humble. The received respect and the accolades they deserved. Countless fans like me now know that they’ve retired, but they’ve certainly earned it. There are some events in life you never forget, one for me is Jane and Chris.❤❤

[georgehorwell]

Love Torvill &Dean. Grew up in awe of their work. They belong to a unique group of people, their dedication and incredible hard graft and determination may be available to us all, but not many go for it. And it’s that which separates them from Joe Public. All the Greats have it. Much respect and thank you for sharing your gift to us all to enjoy so much x

[deborahhamilton]

Beautiful interview. Rare privilege for laypeople to hear this sort of mature reflection so many years after we saw that matchless Olympic performance. Thank you for filming and sharing it.

[glancycorner]

Torvill and Dean made me fall in love with ice dancing. ♥️

[sarahpotts]

My late sister fell in love with Jayne and Chris in 1979 and said they would be the best that the world would ever see. She saw them at the 1980 Olympics ( on tv) just before she passed away and was excited for the forthcoming season . I took it to heart and fell in love with them too. I was fortunate to be able to see them live 14 times . They never made a mistake and never ceased to amaze . My sister was right and there is never going to be anyone better on ice .

[silviaquesada]

One of the really good parts of this interview is that they did not ask any questions about their personal lives, marriages, children etc. Very professionally done with a lot of wonderful insights into what made them such accomplished, successful skaters. I would have enjoyed if they would have had the chance to tell us how they came up with their most iconic performances after winning the Olympics.

[DanyAndreaEm]

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful interview with Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
I admire them since I was a kid in the 1980s. Their "Bolero" was the most beautiful performance I have ever seen on the ice until this time. I was fascinated from their breathtaking charisma, their magically eye contact, from the pure beauty of ice dancing. They still are the best ice dancers of the world for me. After so many years of being partners on ice and of friends of lifetime, Jayne and Chris still shows their deeply respect and their absolutely honesty to each other, something many people seems to have lost.
That's why I love and admire them so much.

Lovely Greetings from Germany

[janetbilbe]

What a great interview. It just seemed like a chat between friends. They have left us some awesome memories. They changed ice dance forever with those spectacular routines.

[victoriagill]

Having followed them since 1981, reading their biography from their competitive career which was written in the moment as I was following it, it is fascinating to hear them look back and reminisce about those moments now with hindsight, learned experience and wistfulness. They have always been so humble and just lovely people and I remember Chris saying he wanted to retire before people started saying ‘oh it’s those old skaters again, pushing them round the ice’😂

[prioress]

They will always be my favorites. As I age, I think, no matter how glamorous one is, age happens. God bless us all.

[purplerabbit]

I feel their strengths as a couple were patience, tolerance, acceptance, forgiveness and admiration for each other. Very rare gifts. I feel proud to be English after listening to this interview. Greetings from Melbourne Australia

[TrinaNixon-up]

Who’s going to watch bolero after watching this?

[culturalcobwebs]

This was such a pleasure to watch and I appreciate how you both gave Jayne and Chris space to answer the questions in their own time but then followed up where appropriate. Very unusual to see them both so reflective and would honestly love a part 2 after their final tour because I'd love to know more about how the 94 Olympics may have shaped their thinking about performance.

[zezezep]

Thanks to Youtube i have relived that four plus minutes of joyous wonder just by watching and listening to them in this interview

[judyoneal]

I wish I’d come across this video before my Mom passed away. I developed my love of figure skating from her. When I was just a little girl she always watched figure skating anytime it was on. I’m 61 and Peggy Fleming was the first skater I recall watching and Dick Button was the commentator. When I was little, my Dad’s job was to take my dress off after church on Sundays before dinner so it didn’t get dirty. I always wore a slip underneath & I remember like it was yesterday “skating” around the dining room table in my slip & stocking feet. Torvill & Dean were one of her favorite pairs to watch. My Mom passed away on 12/09/23. She was fortunate to live 95 years & she never had dementia or issues like that. She watched figure skating during the 2023 season just like she had my whole life. My Mom would have loved this interview. She lived with me the last 7 years of her life & we had a habit of always calling out to the other whenever we found that figuring skating was on TV. If I close my eyes I can just hear her calling, “Judith, ice skating is on channel x at 2”. Gosh, I really miss her.