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Torvill and Dean to receive damehood and knighthood in King's New Year's Honours

Torvill and Dean have already been appointed MBEs and OBEs , and are reported to be upgrading their titles in the upcoming New Year's Honours

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Torvill & Dean skate on the eve of their farewell tour at a photocall at OVO Arena Wembley in April 2025
Torvill & Dean skate on the eve of their farewell tour at a photocall at OVO Arena Wembley in April 2025. Picture: Alamy

By Poppy Jacobs

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are to be given a damehood and knighthood in the King's New Year's Honours, according to reports.

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The pair, who won gold for skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, retired from performing this summer after half a century on the ice.

Ms Torvill, 68, and Mr Dean, 67, have already been appointed MBEs in 1981 and OBEs in 2000.

Supporters have campaigned for further recognition for many years, with a petition for the pair to be knighted rejected in 2023. 

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Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (GBR) Olympic Champions in Ice Dancing at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games, where they received the perfect score of 12 6.0s
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (GBR) Olympic Champions in Ice Dancing at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games, where they received the perfect score of 12 6.0s. Picture: Alamy

The infamous 1984 performance, set to a specially arranged version of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, saw the pair receive 12 perfect 6.0 scores from judges for their four-minute-28-second skate, becoming the highest-scoring competitors the sport had ever seen.

More than 24million British viewers tuned in to witness their triumph, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, who sent them a congratulatory telegram.

Following their Olympic performance, the pair continued their role in the spotlight as judges on ITV's Dancing on Ice.

They stepped down from their role in the summer of 2025.

Those on the New Year's Honours List are set to be announced in the coming days.