Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean
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Torvill and Dean’s friendship and return in ITV’s ‘Dancing On Thin Ice’ documentary

The Dancing On Ice duo have previously addressed rumours of romance

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Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have been skating partners and good friends for decades, but were they ever a couple?

The duo are back on screens tonight (Friday, January 1) for Dancing On Thin Ice, a new ITV documentary that sees them go on the hunt for wild ice in Alaska.

Their aim is to skate their iconic Bolero, the routine that won them gold at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo.

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won gold at the 1984 Olympics (Credit: Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com)

Were Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean ever a couple?

No, they were never in a relationship, although the duo have admitted to having a brief romance.

Speaking on Piers Morgan‘s Life Stories in 2013, the pair revealed that they shared a kiss when they were teenagers.

Read more: Torvill and Dean Dancing On Thin Ice: Skating duo discuss ’emotional’ final performance

They said it was in 1975, when Jayne was aged 17 and Christopher was 16. However, they claim they have never actually been a couple.

In a chat with Radio Times, Jayne explained that it “just happened” and insisted it was a “one off”.

She told the website: “We were in the back of the bus going to a league match, and it just happened. It was a one-off. We never talked about it afterwards. We laugh about it now.”

Speaking in Dancing On Thin Ice, Jayne and Chris say they are best friends – and their relationship today is much more “like brother and sister”.

The duo are back on screens for Dancing On Thin Ice (Credit: Wingspan Productions/ITV)

Is Christopher Dean still with Karen Barber?

Christopher isn’t married, but is in a long-term relationship with ice dancer Karen Barber.

The pair reportedly started dating in 2011, having grown close on Dancing On Ice. Karen was formerly a judge on the ITV show, from 2006 until 2011.

We were in the back of the bus going to a league match, and it just happened. It was a one-off.

Before Karen, Christopher was married twice – first to Isabelle Duchesnay, from 1991 to 1993, and then to Jill Trenary, from 1994 until 2010.

He has two sons from his second marriage – Jack, 22, and Sam, 20.

Christopher Dean and his long-term partner Karen Barber (Credit: Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com)

Who is Jayne Torvill’s husband and does she have children?

Jayne, meanwhile, is happily married to Phil Christensen, with whom she tied the knot in 1990.

Read more: Torvill and Dean dismiss intimacy between skaters on Dancing On Ice as being a ‘curse’

Phil, an American, is a sound engineer. He and Jayne have two adopted children – Kieran, 18, and Jessica, 14.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor