The return of Dancing On Ice: It will happen, promises Christopher Dean
The last series of Dancing On Ice finished a couple of weeks before lockdown began, but the show’s skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean say it will definitely return next year.
The pair, who were appearing on White Wine Question Time, said the fact that it doesn’t start until January means they have more time to work out how.
“We've just got that extra time than some of the other big programs have to figure it out,” Jayne Torvill told podcast host Kate Thornton.
READ MORE: 'Dancing on Ice' star Caprice Bourret slams 'destructive' show for having 'no duty of care'
“Our producers can learn from how other programs are managing to do it or work or what's not working. I think we've got that advantage with Dancing On Ice.”
Both agreed that they and the Dancing On Ice team will be taking a close look at how Strictly Come Dancing manage to negotiate all the issues come September.
“They will obviously be the forerunners,” admitted Christopher Dean
He continued: “It's all new protocols – ways of working that I think all TV productions and film productions are now engaged in making it work. It has to work. I mean TV has to make TV, so there has to be a workaround in whatever form it is, but it will happen – absolutely.”
Chris is confident that there will be an end to this pandemic soon, but it’s something we’ll all have to live with and adapt to.
“I think science is going to bring this along as well,” he told Kate. “Whether it's through vaccines or treatment, we'll all get back to some sort of place that we're comfortable with.
“I don't think we'll ever go back to not knowing about this now. I think it's all in our psyche forever, and it's made us view things differently.”
READ MORE: Joe Wicks vows he won't do 'Strictly Come Dancing'
Obviously lockdown has meant we’ve all been separated from our loved ones, and while Jayne said that she’s used to being apart from her partner once Dancing On Ice wraps, this new way of living has made it a whole lot stranger for her this time around.
“Every year when we do Dancing On Ice, Chris and I are together for like four or five months working and so on,” she said.
“It's always a bit odd that suddenly he's gone back, and I don't see him for a couple of months anyway, in the summer, so it started off like that, but then it became the lockdown as well.
“I felt even more sort of restricted and you know, my left arm had disappeared because he was back in Colorado, but we've obviously been keeping in touch all the time.”
The pair have also been keeping in touch with the Dancing On Ice team by doing a weekly pub quiz on Zoom – although Jayne says it can be a bit cut-throat!
She told Kate: “You can imagine they're super competitive, because some of them are skaters and everyone's a bit competitive about it. And I keep coming last!”
While the show regularly draws millions of viewers, Jayne and Chris admitted to Kate that when they were first approached with the idea, they didn’t think it would work!
“When we were both asked about it - ‘How are we going to teach these celebrities to skate?’- we were like, ‘Oh, it will never work!” revealed Jayne.
READ MORE: This 1984 ice dance is still one of the most watched events in British TV history
She continued: “In our minds it was one series. I don't think we could think beyond that. They were so pleased with it from the very first show of the first series – it got amazing viewing figures, and then it just got better and better for that whole series. They had already decided they were going to do it the next year. And the year after. And it continues now.”
The pair, who won Gold at the Winter Olympics in 1984 with their legendary Boléro dance, said their success lies in their great friendship – and the fact they always resolve any arguments they have.
“Married couples say, don't take an argument to bed,” said Chris. “Well, we don't take an argument off the ice. If we have a dispute, we resolve it and we always leave the ice friends.”
Hear Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean talk more about their skating partnership, why they’re such good friends and their most magical moments on the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on iTunes and Spotify.
