Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean reveal the ‘secret’ behind their 50-year relationship

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as iconic ice skating duo Torvill and Dean said their final goodbyes in the emotional ITV documentary , which aired on 28 December (here's how to watch Torvill & Dean: The Last Dance if you missed it). .

Charting their incredible careers, which spanned across 50 years, the documentary covered the highs and lows of their half-century-long career on the ice, from their legendary performance of Bolero at the 1984 Winter Olympics to more intimate behind-the-scenes footage of their rehearsal processes.

An intriguing moment came when the pair commented on their rumoured romantic involvement. They revealed they’ve been repeatedly throughout their career whether or not they’ve ever been romantically involved, but, Jane said, they always refused to comment on it.

'I think our responses of neither saying yes or no, is basically [trying to say] it’s none of your business, we’re here to skate and what we do outside of that is our business,' she said in the documentary.

'A little bit of mystery is not a bad thing,' Christopher added. “It’s the mystique of it and I think that really draws people in when they’re watching.'

But they have previously revealed that, while they once 'crossed the line' and were together 'for a minute, but it didn’t last very long', their lack of romantic feelings for one another is the 'secret' that’s kept their career going for so long.

Back in 2013, during a TV interview with Piers Morgan, Christopher shared that the pair had been romantically involved when they were teenagers, but only briefly.

'We were kids,' he said. 'It was before we were skating partners. The team would go to competitions at different rinks. It was a back-of-the-bus kiss on one of those coach trips.'

Jane added as soon as their skating partnership began, she knew any romantic involvement could be detrimental to their careers and chose to put those ahead of any romantic feelings.

She said, 'Later, when I was about 14 and still not into boys much, my coach said, 'Whatever you do, don’t date your skating partner because if you fall out he won’t want to skate with you.' That always stuck in my mind.'

It’s a fact that the pair emphasised just last year when, during an appearance on the High Performance Podcast, they were asked if their relationship had ever 'crossed the line' into romance.

Christopher responded, 'When we were younger, we were sort of, for a minute, but it didn’t last very long. I think we just eventually got into that place where we knew that we were the best of friends. I think that mutual friendship has got us to this point now, 50 years later.'

Jane added their friendship staying purely a friendship, and not evolving into anything romantic, is the 'secret' that’s kept their bond strong. 'Quite often we get asked, ‘What’s the secret of your friendship, relationship?’[It's that] we never got married,' she said.

'If you’re doing a professional show, there’s no messing about because you can’t be silly and, I don’t know, you know, go off and get married in the middle of a season of a show or have an affair with somebody.'

Their professional relationship clearly paid off, with their half-century-long career only now coming to an end with the premiere of Torvill & Dean: The Last Dance. But while we won’t be seeing them on our screens anymore, their friendship will certainly remain strong.