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Torvill and Dean – outside of Robin Cousins, they’re the only ice skaters of whom most of us know the name.
I don’t know of anyone crying out for a film about this pair, certainly long after their heyday, but I figured, at least it’s bound to make a better origin movie than Aquaman and Captain Marvel. That said, it could’ve been the success of I, Tonya which brought this about.
Starting in 1968 Nottingham, we see them – separately – both falling in love with the sport, with him having warring parents, and then fast-forward to 1974 where Jayne is briefly seen being coached by Angie Watts. Before long, they’re brought together after it doesn’t work out it with other skaters, respectively, and for various reasons.
The pair are played by Will Tudor (Odi in Humans) and Poppy Lee Friar (Missy Booth in Ackley Bridge). He resembles his counterpart, but she doesn’t in particular.
I don’t know how much of Torvill and Dean is completely true, but then we hear Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody being played in 1974, and it wasn’t released until October 31st 1975, having been recorded between August and September 1975.
If you’ve come to see their dance to Bolero, in which they won the Gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics with twelve 6.0 scores, and was the highest point for them, that’s in the final part…ish. When it actually gets to the point where they’re about to take to the ice, any attempt to replicate it is thrown out of the window and it fades out and shows highlights of the original pair performing it.
Overall, this makes for very undemanding entertainment, and it’s not great. Still, if you’re watching this live, it’s better than the BBC1 alternative which is Eastenders, Mrs Brown’s Boys and a repeat of Outnumbered. I enjoyed Outnumbered back in the day, but that’s now come and gone.
Torvill And Dean is broadcast on Christmas Day on ITV at 9pm, and then will be the ITV Hub. You can pre-order the film on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release on March 25th.
Score: 3/10
Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Producer: Emma Burge
Writer: William Ivory
Music: Andrew Simon McAllister
Cast:
Christopher Dean: Will Tudor
Jayne Torvill: Poppy Lee Friar
Janet Sawbridge: Jaime Winstone
Colin Dean: Dean Andrews
George Torvill: Stephen Tompkinson
Miss Perry: Anita Dobson
Betty Torvill: Jo Hartley
Mavis Dean: Christine Bottomley
Betty Callaway: Annabelle Apsion
Ted: Mark Benton
Betty Dawson: Susan Earl
Brian Dawson: Joe Docherty
Leanne: Cassie Bradley
Shirley: Dominique Moore
Ella: Sophie Robertson
Betty Dean: Susan Earl
Darren: Curtis Lee Ashqar
Aidy: Daniel Fitzsimons
Thief: Chris McCurry
Announcer: Tim Bentinck
Receptionist: Oghenekevwe Emefe
Young Jayne: Danielle Hadfield-Easton
Young Christopher: Mason Hart
Young Aidy: Daniel Price
Andrew: Niall Lingard
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.