Torvill and Dean rush to prepare last-minute routine for Dancing On Ice final

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have revealed they have had just days to put together a dazzling routine for the Dancing On Ice final.

The Olympic duo, who are also judges on the show, had previously recorded a performance for the final but it was played in an earlier episode.

ITV also brought the final forward by a week after so many contestants withdrew because of injury or positive Covid test results.

Emmerdale star Joe-Warren Plant and comedian Rufus Hound both had to leave after testing positive for coronavirus.

Reality TV star Billie Shepherd, singer and actress Denise Van Outen and Jason Donovan had to pull out of the series due to injury.

Dean said: “Jayne and I were thrown a challenge – we have got four or five days to put a routine together so we can skate in the last show.

“We haven’t been skating for the last eight weeks, nine weeks, and then it’s suddenly all hands on deck and I feel like I’ve been through the wars a bit.

“We have just been lifting and skating for the last two days and it’s been crazy.”

Torvill said: “The final routine was played already so we haven’t got one for the final, so they said ‘If you could skate together in the last week, are you willing to do one?’ and we said yes!”

Dean promised the performance will be “light and entertaining”, and added: “I think we want that at the moment.

“It’s just a fun routine and something that we feel comfortable doing. Tune in and watch!”

He continued: “The thing about ice is it’s so unpredictable, you don’t know what is going to happen the minute you put those blades on the ice.

“You can practise it all week long. Jayne and I were practising just the other day and you would think after 47 years we wouldn’t fall over, but we did.”

Torvill added: “No, you fell over. I just landed on top of you.”

The final will see soap star Faye Brookes, Olympian Colin Jackson and radio DJ Sonny Jay go head-to-head to win the series.

However, Torvill said Plant could have been a contender if he had not had to pull out of the show.

She said: “I think the three in the final are very, very strong, as strong as any we have had before in the past.

“I think the only person missing from that group that could have potentially have been there is Joe-Warren Plant because he was showing really good promise at the beginning and it’s a pity that we didn’t get to see where his journey would end.”

Her fellow judge Ashley Banjo said: “Normally you have someone who is quite a front runner and it’s about whether other people can catch them or not, but I think what is interesting about this one is all of them are good and they all bring completely different strengths as well.

“In my mind it feels slightly different to any final that I’ve ever been a part of.”

Brookes is currently the bookies’ favourite to win the series, but Dean said: “It’s going to be who skates the best on the night, or who brings the best performance.

“You can’t absolutely say they are definitely better. I really do think it will be on the night.

“I think Faye has this natural ability of line and poise, but Sonny’s character and how he has pushed himself and what he’s prepared to go through, I think he’s the most improved skater and he will take the things that are maybe a little bit more risky and go for it and so I think that could easily pay off.

“And Colin is consistent. If the other two start making mistakes, Colin is very consistent, so it depends how the nerves work on the night and how they present their performances.”

The final of Dancing On Ice airs on ITV on Sunday at 6pm.