Sir Christopher Colin Dean (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner, Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. They were also four-time world and European champions and seven-time British champions.

Early life

Christopher Colin Dean was born on 27 July 1958 and grew up in Calverton, Nottinghamshire. When he was aged six, his mother left and his father remarried. Dean never talked about this with his father or stepmother, both of whom have died. He regained contact with his mother.

From 1977 to 1980, he was a police constable with Nottinghamshire Police.

Skating career

Dean began to skate at the age of 10 after he received a pair of skates as a Christmas present. His parents were keen ballroom dancers. At school he was captain of the football team and he saw ice skating as a sport that was athletic and graceful. Dean's first ice partner was Sandra Elson. They began skating together when he was 14 and competed as ice dancers for a few years under their instructor Len Sayward. However, despite becoming British Junior Dance champions, the team parted, as Dean and Elson did not get along well. Dean then agreed to practise with Jayne Torvill, another skater at the Nottingham rink. The pair were first coached by Janet Sawbridge but in 1978 Betty Callaway became their coach.

Dean left school at age 16 and joined the Nottingham Police Force in 1974. It was challenging for him to undergo police cadet training, as his schedule often clashed with his skating training sessions. Thus Torvill and Dean had to practise during his off-hours. These difficult times brought them closer and gave them a sense of discipline that was to prove vital throughout their career.

By 1980, Torvill and Dean had progressed to not only become British National Dance Champions but were in medal contention in international competitions as well. It was then that Dean made the decision that he could no longer balance his skating and police careers so he resigned from the police force. Torvill left her job soon after; this was made possible with a Nottingham City Council grant of £42,000.

Dean also served as the chief choreographer for the Torvill and Dean team.

thumb|right|[[Torvill and Dean performing in 2011]]

Torvill and Dean's free programme at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, performed to the music of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, became world-famous. They received nine 6.0 marks for artistic impression, (three more for technical merit for a total of twelve 6.0 marks) the highest possible score and the only time ever that an all-perfect score was achieved at a Winter Olympics. It was one of the most popular achievements in the history of British sport, watched by a British television audience of 24 million people.

Torvill and Dean turned professional after their 1984 Olympic win. Under then existing Olympic Games rules as professionals they became ineligible to participate in Olympic competition. In 1993 the International Skating Union relaxed the rules for professional skaters, allowing the pair to participate in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer where they won a bronze medal.

Torvill and Dean were admitted to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1989.

From January 2006–2023 Torvill and Dean participated in the ITV show Dancing on Ice. Each series ran from January to March with Torvill and Dean as "judges". The show then migrates to go on tour to arenas across the United Kingdom.

In January 2012 Dean said he was open to working with the National Ice Skating Association to help British competitive skating. Torvill and Dean were ambassadors for the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England.

|Evergreen

|-

|1980

|A Little Street in Singapore

|Sing Sing Sing etc.

|Puttin' On the Ritz

|-

|1981

|Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)

|Fame etc.

|History of Love (version 1)

|-

|1982

|Summertime

|Mack and Mabel

|The Hop, Kiss Me Kate, Fast Tap

|-

|1983

|Rock n Roll

|Barnum

|Putting on the Ritz

|-

|1984

|Capriccio Espagnol, Rimsky Korsakov

|Boléro

|I Won't Send Roses

|-

|1994

|History of Love (version 2)

|Let's Face the Music

|Boléro

He has been in a relationship with Karen Barber since 2011.

Dean has also remained a close friend of his skating partner Jayne Torvill.

In 2021 Dean took part in an episode of DNA Journey to trace his family roots. He also appeared on The Masked Dancer as Beagle, where he was the fifth celebrity to be unmasked.

Honours

Dean was appointed an Honorary Freeman of the City of Nottingham in 1983.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1981 New Year Honours for services to ice dancing, promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to ice skating, and knighted in the 2026 New Year Honours for services to Ice Skating and to Voluntary Service.

Dean was portrayed by Will Tudor in the 2018 ITV biopic Torvill & Dean.

See also

  • Torvill and Dean

References

  • Torvill & Dean (official site)