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Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British Ice dancing 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.
From 1974 to 1980, he was a police constable with Nottinghamshire Police.
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.
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. 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. 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 to arenas across the United Kingdom. The show was scheduled to return in 2024.
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. 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.
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.
On 15 October 1994 Dean married American skater Jill Trenary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They had two sons, Jack Robert and Sam Colin, and lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dean's agent confirmed in March 2010 that the couple had separated. He and Trenary remain on good terms.
He has been in a relationship with Karen Barber since 2011.
Dean also remained close friends with partner Jayne Torvill. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean: DNA Journey
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.
Competitive results
Amateur results
Olympics 5th 1st 3rd Worlds 11th 8th 4th 1st 1st 1st 1st Europeans 9th 6th 4th 1st 1st 1st 1st British Championships 4th 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st NHK Trophy 2nd St Ivel International 1st 1st Oberstdorf 2nd 1st St Gervais 1st Morzine Trophy 2nd John Davis Trophy 1st Sheffield Trophy 1st Rotary Watches Competition 2nd Northern Championships 1st WD: Withdrew
Professional results
World Professional Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st Challenge of Champions 1st 1st 1st World Team Championship 3rd 1st 1st
Professional programmes
World Professional Championships Song of India, Encounter Diablo Tango, Venus Oscar Tango, Revolution / Imagine Encounter Still Crazy After All These Years, Cecilia Take Five, Hat Trick Challenge of Champions Echoes of Ireland Still Crazy After All These Years, Cecilia Take Five, Hat Trick World Team Championships Let's Face the Music, Encounter Bridge Over Troubled Water, Cecilia Sarabande, Hat Trick
Amateur programmes
Honours
On 28 April 1983, Dean was appointed Honorary Freeman of the City of Nottingham. Dean was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1999.
Personal life
Between 1991 and 1993 Dean was married to French-Canadian World ice dance champion Isabelle Duchesnay, whom he met while choreographing for her and her brother Paul Duchesnay in the late 1980s.
In popular culture
Dean was portrayed by Will Tudor in the 2018 ITV biopic Torvill & Dean.
See also
External links
Categories: 1958 Births, Living People, People From Calverton, Nottinghamshire, Sportspeople From Nottinghamshire, English Male Ice Dancers, English Olympic Competitors, Bbc Sports Personality Of The Year Winners, Figure Skaters At The 1980 Winter Olympics, Figure Skaters At The 1984 Winter Olympics, Figure Skaters At The 1994 Winter Olympics, Figure Skating Choreographers, British Figure Skating Coaches, Officers Of The Order Of The British Empire, Olympic Bronze Medallists For Great Britain, Olympic Figure Skaters For Great Britain, Olympic Gold Medallists For Great Britain, Officers In English Police Forces, Olympic Medalists In Figure Skating, Primetime Emmy Award Winners, World Figure Skating Championships Medalists, European Figure Skating Championships Medalists, Medalists At The 1984 Winter Olympics, Medalists At The 1994 Winter Olympics
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