Jayne Torvill, OBE is best known for being an Olympic ice skating champion as well as being part of ITV’s Dancing on Ice. But what else do you know about her? Here, we take a little look at the skating star, including her relationship Christopher Dean and how many children she has.
How old is Jayne Torvill?
Jayne was born on 7 October 1957, making her 67 years old.
She grew up in Nottingham and worked as an insurance clerk, before becoming an ice skater.
Who is Jayne Torvill married to?
Although many people assume Jayne is in a relationship with her skating partner Christopher Dean, Jayne is actually married to American sound engineer Phil Christensen. Together they have two adopted children Kieran and Jessica.
Christopher Dean and Jayne never dated. He's currently in a long term relationship with British ice dancer Karen Barber.
Who are Jayne Torvill's children?
Jayne explained during an episode of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories back in 2013 that she and Phil had struggled to conceive children naturally. They didn’t start trying for a baby until Jayne was in her forties.
“I got pregnant quite quickly and I thought, 'Oh this is fine'. And when I went to have a scan they said I had an ectopic pregnancy, and I didn't know what that meant.”
“They said, 'The embryo's growing in one of the tubes'. And I said, 'Oh, ok, so how do you get it out then?'. And they said, 'We don't. We can't'. That's when it hit me.”
Jayne and Phil went on to try IVF for a year before deciding to adopt instead.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean
Jayne first teamed up with Christopher Dean in 1975. When they placed 5th in the 1980 Winter Olympics in New York, Jayne gave up her job as an insurance clerk so she and Christopher could skate together full-time.
They are well known performing to the music of Maurice Ravel's Boléro at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, a performance that became world-famous. Jayne and Christopher received twelve perfect 6.0 marks.
It is believed to be one of the most popular achievements in the history of British sport and was watched by a British television audience of 24 million people.
Dancing on Ice
Jayne and Christopher began starring in ITV show Dancing on Ice in January 2006. The show follows celebrities and their professional partners figure skating in front of a panel of judges. The show ran until 2014 before returning to TV screens in 2018.
The show is back again for 2025, presented by Stephen Mulhern and Holly Willoughby. Chris and Jayne are also back as head judges, with Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse.
Is Jayne Torvill on social media?
Although Jayne is quite private about her personal life, you can follow her on Instagram here.
Are Torvill & Dean on tour in 2025?
Yes! Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean will be performing in their final ever tour titled Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance UK. The tour runs from 11- April to 2nd July. Tickets are now available.
Jayne and Chris recently spoke to Yours about their final ever tour.
Q: How did you decide that it was time to retire?
Jayne: We’re getting on a bit, and we wanted to end our career on a high. So we decided that 50 years was a good number to say, ‘This is it’.
Chris: We wanted to do it while our bodies could still manage it, and at a certain level that we’re happy with.
Q: Have there been any challenges during training, now you’re both in your 60s?
Chris: In my head, I’m still 20! But my stamina tells me I’m 66. The routines have been adapted, though. I don’t think anybody would expect us to do absolute replicas of things that we did 50 years ago.
Q: How will Bolero and your Olympic gold be worked into the show?
Chris: We don’t want to give too much away, but it’ll be in there, of course, because so many people identify with that dance. There’s a lot of nostalgia in the show.
Q: Going back to your iconic dance, when did you realise you’d made history?
Jayne: It was only some weeks later that we realised the impact we’d had, certainly on people in Nottingham, our home town. We were driven around the city in what can only be described as a popemobile!
Chris: They published the route in the Nottingham Evening Post. And we felt a bit embarrassed that nobody would turn out, but the streets were lined for about four miles.
Q: How emotional will you be after that final dance on the tour?
Chris: I think I’m more emotional than Jayne! We’ll definitely have a little tear.
Jayne: It will be a moment, for sure, because it’s a big, big milestone in our lives.
Q: Having been lured out of retirement once before, people might wonder if this is really the end…
Jayne: I think it is. I mean, we’ll still work together, and if Dancing on Ice continues, we will be happy to judge. But in terms of performing, this will be our last hurrah.
Chris: We just physically can’t do it anymore. And we want more freedom. I’d like to start beekeeping!
Q: What do you think has made your partnership so successful?
Chris: We have a lot of respect and trust for each other, and that’s not built up in months. It’s taken years and years. It means we can rely on each other.
Q: As you hang up your skates, what do you hope your legacy will be?
Jayne: Well, we hope people will still remember the shows and talk about the last tour and the last time they saw us perform.
Chris: Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Torvill and Dean post office stamp?! That’s my dream!
Arabella is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours, who has worked on various digital brands at Bauer Media since 2020, including Mother&Baby, Yours, Heat, Closer and WhatsTheBest. Initially an intern in the company, she has worked her way up and was also previously a Content Optimisation Executive. Her current role includes writing affiliate-based articles, finding and reviewing products and keeping Yours readers up-to-date with the latest TV news.