Christopher Dean

Dancer

Birthday July 27, 1958

Birth Sign Leo

Birthplace Calverton, Nottinghamshire, England

Age 65 years old

Height 5ft 10.5in

#42710 Most Popular

1958

Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics with his skating partner Jayne Torvill.

1974

From 1974 to 1980, he was a police constable with Nottinghamshire Police.

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.

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.

1978

The pair were first coached by Janet Sawbridge but in 1978 Betty Callaway became their coach.

1980

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.

1983

On 28 April 1983, Dean was appointed Honorary Freeman of the City of Nottingham.

1984

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.

It was one of the most popular achievements in the history of British sport, watched by a British television audience of 24 million people.

Since the time limit was four minutes and ten seconds and their music was four minutes 28 seconds, they began on their knees and moved their bodies to the music for 18 seconds before starting to skate.

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.

1989

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

1993

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.

1994

They also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Dean grew up in Calverton, Nottinghamshire.

When he was six, his mother left and his father remarried.

Dean never talked about this with his father or stepmother, both of whom have died.

He has regained contact with his mother.

2006

From January 2006 - 2023, Torvill and Dean have participated in the ITV show Dancing on Ice.

Each season, the televised show runs from January to March with Torvill and Dean as "judges".

The show then migrates to go on tour to arenas across the United Kingdom.

The show is scheduled to return in 2024.

2012

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.

2014

In February 2014, they visited Sarajevo for the 30th anniversary of the 1984 Olympics, and recreated their Bolero routine in the same arena where they won the gold.

2018

In 2018, Dean choreographed the free programme of Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, who won the gold medal in Pair skating with a world record at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.