Torvill & Dean hoping to pass mantle to Fear & Gibsonpublished at 14:46 Greenwich Mean Time 27 March
European Figure Skating Championships 2025: Fear and Gibson claim ice dance bronze
What do you get British skating royalty as a retirement gift when they have been ice dancing together for 50 years? A successor would be nice.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who won Olympic gold in 1984 and bronze in 1994, never thought they would be doing a farewell tour in 2025 still waiting for Great Britain to win another global figure skating medal.
They are hoping the wait may be nearly over with the emergence of Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who Torvill says have "taken ice dancing in Great Britain to another level".
Fear and Gibson are three-time European medallists and have come fourth at the past two World Championships. They head into this week's Worlds - which you can watch on the BBC - among the favourites for the podium in a season where they claimed Britain's first ever medal at the Grand Prix final.
Torvill and Dean have been following their progress with interest for several years since first meeting them on the ice at Alexandra Palace, when the youngsters asked them to look at the programme they were working on.
"We sort of added a few little moves here and there, but I think what struck us right at the beginning was how well matched they were as a team, in stature and personality and ability," Dean said.
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Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (left) are frequently cited as an inspiration by Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (right)