Dancing on Ice saw Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean return to the judging panel tonight alongside fellow judges Jason Gardiner and Ashley Banjo. Torvill and Dean are famous for their ice skating skills. The pair scooped a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Ten years later the two took home bronze medal in Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Despite their strong professional relationship and success, there remains a “subtle air of competition,” a body language expert has revealed. What else did they give away?
Body language expert Judi James told Express.co.uk: “There’s still a subtle air of competition between Jayne and her partner Chris and although they synchronise their movements beautifully during set moments, like smiling at one another when they’re introduced, their body language suggests two quite different styles of thinking as they give their scores and comments.”
The way Torvill and Dean give feedback to the dancers differs greatly, too.
“Jayne gets to the point quickly and uses upward scooping hand gestures that suggest creative and supportive thoughts,” James said,
“Chris begins his comments with some scripted-looking jokes and puns but when he becomes more critical he uses pointing and then precision gestures to suggest more logical, detailed thought plus the fact that although encouraging he might be harder to please.”
The skating pro duo did agree on the skating couple they liked the most, however.
James said: “[Dean’s] confidence in Wes was illustrated tonight when he laid on the ice for Wes to jump over him and although both Jayne and Chris gave Wes full marks with two tens their displays of warmth and delight were saved for another contestant.
“Brian McFadden has been the joker in the pack in this competition but he has knuckled down and improved and both Jayne and Chris used body language to signal their pleasure and support for him.
“Jayne celebrated his improvement with a wink and an air punch while Chris scrunched himself up to show his excitement.
“Jayne also seems to have a soft spot for James’s journey too. Tapping her fingers in what looked like impatience while the other judges scored him she awarded him his highest score of the night, showing an appreciation of all the hard work he’s been putting into pitching himself against Wes, the guy who currently looks impossible to beat.”
Earlier today, on This Morning on Sunday, Torvill and Dean revealed they have to work a lot harder now to perform on the ice.
The famous duo performed on Dancing On Ice together for the first time this season a few weeks ago, and they revealed that they really had to push themselves this year.
“We try to push ourselves. Obviously, as you get older it gets harder,” Chris said.
Jayne added: “We’ve been working on [tonight’s routine] for a few weeks now.
“It’s really a performance about friendship, our friendship,” she finished.
However, they couldn’t finish the interview without addressing the drama between Gemma and fellow judge, Jason Gardiner.
They explained to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford how difficult it can be to diffuse such a tricky situation on live TV.
“I felt sorry for Phillip [Schofield] and Holly [Willoughby] because I thought at what point do they need to jump in? It probably wasn’t the right place,” Jayne said.