In my experience... Jayne Torvill

What are your first memories of skating?

When I was about eight, our teacher arranged a trip to the local ice rink in Nottingham. We had hire boots which were brown, but I could see the good skaters had white ones, which made me envious. I found I had a sense of balance almost right away. I wasn’t great, but I wasn’t falling over, and I could skate forwards comfortably. Gliding on the ice is magical. It’s a unique feeling, like being able to fly. I pestered my parents for my own white boots. They bought me a secondhand pair as my mum said I might not keep it up, which makes me laugh now.

This year is the 15th series of Dancing on Ice. Why has it remained so popular?

There’s a lot of jeopardy involved. Our viewers appreciate how much harder our show is than Strictly where they are on the floor and safe. Our contestants are balanced on tiny blades of steel and have to learn to skate first before they learn to dance, and a lot can go wrong. If I know a difficult move is coming up for them, I grab Chris’s arm and hold my breath.

Are you planning to dance on ice this year?

We are planning at least two routines. We are grateful we can still perform in what Chris says is ‘an age-appropriate way’. When we feel what we’re doing isn’t good enough, we will stop. We do suffer injuries sometimes, and there are parts of our bodies that don’t move as well as they did.

You’ve been married for 32 years to American Phil Christensen. How did you meet?

In the Eighties, Chris and I we were touring America with a Russian skating company. One night we went with a group of the arena crew to a sushi bar and Phil, who was supervising our sound system, was among them. He worked as a sound engineer for Phil Collins and Genesis so that brought him over to the UK where we got to know each other.

How does he cope with the assumption that you and Chris are a couple?

Phil puts up with a lot. He gets called Chris quite often if people meet him when we are out together, which he finds funny. He says: ‘Well, I’m Phil but hi anyway!’ He’s fine about it.

‘Chris and I have known each other so long we can read each other’s minds’

What role does Chris play in your life?

I’m an only child so it’s like having a brother and a best friend. We have known each other so long we can read each other’s minds just by looking into each other’s eyes or a nod.

What would you tell your younger self?

To believe in yourself more, not just with skating. I was very shy when I was younger.

The best day of your life?

Obviously a big moment was when we won the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984. Whenever I hear Ravel’s Bolero, it’s like an old friend. Without that performance we wouldn’t have won the gold. That opened so many doors. We could have retired right there, but we wanted to make a career of it, and needed to earn a living. We were lucky enough to put together our own show and tour the world. We retired in 1996 after the Olympics in 1994, where we won a bronze. Then Dancing on Ice came along…

Did you jump at the chance to do the show?

We didn’t know if it would work. They asked us how long it would take to teach people to skate, and we said, ‘Oh four or five years’. But we came up with a format of how to get people to a level of performance and then became more excited by the idea and challenge of it. We were initially there to train and choreograph routines. But then one of the producers asked if we would demonstrate some of the moves and it went from there to doing a routine. We were quite excited by being together and having the chance to perform again. We were nervous the first time, but once the music started it was like old times.

If you were a Minister for the Saga generation, what would you change?

I’d encourage older people to try new things in a safe way – things they have never done and would normally be considered too old to do – and provide the opportunity for them to do it.

What’s your biggest regret?

I have no regrets because even when things don’t always go the way you hope, you learn from that. If we hadn’t gone back to the Olympics in 1994, we would have regretted it and spent the rest of our lives wondering where we would have finished.

Dancing on Ice is on on ITV1 and ITVX later this month