Entertainment
Jayne Torvill tips Sally Dynevor for Dancing On Ice success: ‘She’s the perfect size’
She doesn’t want to put pressure on anyone in case they ‘don’t turn out to be that good’ (Picture: Metro.co.uk/ REX)
Dancing On Ice judge Jayne Torvill, 64, on breaking her wrist, the new series and her friendship with Christopher Dean.
Ice skating can be a dangerous sport – have you ever injured yourself?
I fractured my wrist when I started back training with Chris in September. I’d been skating for less than an hour. It was such a shock – that’s what people do when they’re first time on the ice!
I wasn’t even doing anything difficult, I just caught an edge. It just shows the jeopardy of the competition. I had to wear a splint and I wasn’t allowed back on the ice for four or five weeks in case I fell again. It’s fine now.
Who is your tip to win Dancing On Ice?
I don’t want to put someone on the spot and then they don’t turn out to be that good as the competition progresses.
Last year we had Faye Brookes, who was good right from the beginning, but she didn’t improve as much as she could have. Whereas Sonny Jay wasn’t good at all but he worked hard and each week you could see an improvement.
He thoroughly deserved to win.
Jayne reckons Corrie star Sally Dynevor will look ‘beautiful’ on the ice (Picture: Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Has anyone caught your eye?
Brendan Cole is promising. He has that work discipline from being a ballroom dancer and he seems like a bit of perfectionist.
Coronation Street’s Sally Dynevor is the perfect size for skating. She’s very petite and slim, and her partner Matt Evers is a very experienced skater, so I think she’ll look beautiful on the ice.
Happy Mondays dancer Bez has described himself as like Bambi on ice…
I saw him practising the other week. He was being encouraged by the coaches to get to the barrier without falling because that meant he’d done two sessions on the ice without falling once.
When he did it, he punched the air. He’s a lovely, funny chap.
Jayne has called Bez a ‘lovely, funny chap’ and she isn’t wrong (Picture: Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
How many dances are you and Chris doing this year?
Three. We pre-recorded one, which was filmed with a drone. That was amazing as it shows things from a different perspective.
And we’ll be doing two more, one of which is for the final. We always used to do a version of [Olympic gold-winning music] Bolero in the final but this year will be different.
Do you skate much after Dancing On Ice finishes?
No, because I live a long way from the nearest ice rink. It would be a two-hour trip there and two hours back.
Does skating get harder every year now you’re in your sixties?
More aches and pains creep in because your body is getting older. We’re lucky that we can still skate and do performances but Chris calls them ‘age-
appropriate’! Obviously, there will come a time when we think, ‘Well, we need to stop performing now.’
Her relationship with Chris is ‘one of a kind’ (Picture: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
How would you describe your relationship with Chris?
It’s one of a kind. We’ve been together for so long. We grew up as teenagers together and we’ve got so many fond memories. We’ve always supported each other and respected each other.
We call each other every day or every other day to check in. We’re like best friends and brother and sister. We don’t really fall out but we’ve argued. It’s always skating-related but we made a pact that we had to resolve any argument before we left the ice.
We used to see couples have an argument and one of them walk off the ice, and that was their training session finished. We realised we had to use every minute we could get.
You sound like an old married couple…
We always joke that if we’d ever have got married, we probably wouldn’t still be skating together. People say that we’ve been together longer than most marriages and I say, ‘Well, that’s why – because we never got married!’
Strictly dancer Oti Mabuse is on the judging panel this year…
We felt an instant rapport. Ashley Banjo is cool and laid-back, and Chris and I are always looking at the skating. Oti is very bubbly and excitable so she adds another element.
Having spent your whole life on the ice, you presumably don’t mind the cold?
I actually hate the cold! But you’ve got several layers on and once you get yourself moving, your body warms up.
Jayne had an ‘instant rapport’ with new judge Oti Mabuse (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Do your two teenage children enjoy ice-skating?
They skate but we don’t live near a rink. My daughter was keen to have lessons but it was impossible because she’d have to travel an hour and a half after school and how could she do that every day?
More: Sixty Seconds
What do you enjoy away from work?
In lockdown, we got a little puppy – my new baby! She’s made a big impact on our lives. I also belong to my local tennis club.
Is there anything left on your bucket list?
Chris and I made a documentary in Alaska and we’d like the opportunity to do something along those lines again in a different country, exploring unusual ice rinks around the world.
Dancing On Ice is on Sunday evenings on ITV
MORE : Dancing on Ice and Happy Mondays’ Bez to appear in Hollyoaks for cameo role
