Christopher Dean: his relationship with Jayne Torvill, marriages and skating career

How much do you know about Dancing on Ice star Christopher Dean?

christopher dean and jayne torvill

by Ellen Kinsey |
Updated on

Christopher Dean, OBE, is best known for being an Olympian ice skating champion as well as being part of ITV’s Dancing on Ice.

Here we take a closer look at Christopher's personal life off the rink, including who he's been married to, how many children he has and of course his relationship with his ice skating partner, Jayne Torvill.

How old is Christopher Dean?

Christopher was born in Calverton, Nottinghamshire on 27 July 1958, making him 63 years old.

How tall is Christopher Dean?

He's a pretty tall guy and is 5’9!

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean

The duo have been friends and skating partners since 1975 when they were teenagers. Despite over the years insisting they have just been friends the public has always been intrigued due to their undeniable chemistry on the ice rink.

Jayne has admitted they shared a kiss on one occasion, stating that: "We did actually kiss once – before we were a skating couple. It was one-off. We never talked about it afterwards. We laugh about it now."

Christopher added: "We were 14-years-old, and teenagers in the most naive sense.”

In a recent interview, Christopher stated that there had been some moments where they questioned whether they had a romantic connection but chose to stay friends and put their skating careers first.

Is Christopher Dean married?

The ice skater has been married twice before, firstly to the French-Canadian World ice dance champion, Isabelle Duchesnay, between 1991 and 1993. Following their divorce, Isabelle reportedly said that she felt that there were 'two women in Christopher's life', referring to his dance partner, Jayne Torvill. Christopher went on to meet another woman, an American skater, Jill Trenary. The pair got married in 1994 and had two sons, but sadly parted ways in 2010.

Who is Christopher Dean with now?

Christopher Dean and Karen Barber

Christopher Dean is currently in a relationship with Dancing on Ice head coach Karen Barber, with whom he'd been friends with for a long time. The couple became an item in 2011. Karen was previously married to skating coach Stephen Pickavance, who she had been with for 21 years and shares two daughters with.

Who are Christopher Dean’s children?

Jill and Christopher had two sons, Jack Robert Dean, 22 and Sam Colin Dean, 20. The family had lived together in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In March 2010, the couple decided to separate however remain on good terms.

When did Christopher Dean start ice skating?

Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill ice skating

Christopher's love for ice skating ignited when he was 10 years old when he received a pair of ice skates for Christmas. He first started dancing on the ice at 14 with his skating partner, Sandra Elson. The duo became the British Junior Dance champions but due to a rocky friendship, he was set up with a new dance partner - Jayne Torvill.

He left school at 16, to train to become a PC with the Nottinghamshire Police in 1974, but later quit in 1980 to become a full-time ice skater.

In 1984, Torvill and Dean entered the spotlight with their performance at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. The two made history and danced to Maurice Ravel's Bolero. They received the highest possible score and are the only ice-skating pair to do so in the history of the Olympics.

Is Christopher on social media?

He shares a joint Twitter account and website with Jayne.

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