'Next Torvill and Dean' are first to win GB ice skating medal in over 40 years

A young ice-skating duo have won Great Britian its first figure-skating medal in over 40 years, becoming the only UK skaters to do so since . Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson received a bronze medal for their routine at the World Figure Skating Championships in last week making it the first win for since 1984.

Bringing the sport back into to the limelight once again, the incredible pair scored a total of 207.11 points with their free dance to a medley of Beyoncé tunes at the competition in Boston, Massachusetts. They are now the only skating duo representing Great Britain to stand on the podium at an international championship since legends of the ice Torvill and Dean did exactly 41 years ago.

Speaking to the , Dean said that he'd like to pass the torch onto Fear and Gibson, saying: "We're retiring this year, so it would be nice to just hand that on to them." Torvill added that the young skating duo have "taken ice dancing in Great Britain to another level".

READ MORE:

At just 25 years-old, Fear said that it was a "dream come true" for her and her partner and admitted that she "cried non-stop" since their win. Gibson, 30, has in the past credited watching with Torvill and Dean as his inspiration for getting into skating.

The young duo began training as a pair in London and competed together for the first time in 2016. They went onto win two Grand Prix bronze medals, later finishing the 2021 World Championships in seventh place. With this latest win under their belt, they are expected to do well in next year's Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

Now at the forefront of the British ice-skating scene, the pair have been compared to Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who are widely regarded as pioneers in the world of figure skating. They caught the attention of the world with their ground-breaking performance at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, 1984. The emotional and highly creative routine to Ravel’s Boléro earned them a 12 perfect scores of 6.0 for artistic impression - an an unprecedented feat - and secured them the Olympic Gold medal.

Before that, Torvill and Dean had dominated the international stage with a string of World and European Championship wins between 1981 and 1984. The ice dancing duo went onto win big again at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammerk, taking home the bronze after a short hiatus from the ice.

Now, they are perhaps most well-known for their position as judges and performers on popular UK television show Dancing on Ice which has been running since 2006 and sees celebrities learn the art of figure-skating alongside some of the country's best talent. However, after 19 years on the show, including their roles on Dancing on Ice, after 50 years of skating together.

The pair announced the news in Sarajevo, returning to the place were they first found international fame with their history-making Olympic performance so many years ago. They said: "Whilst we will continue to work together off the ice, this will be the final time we will skate together following our 50-year partnership. But not without celebrating one final time with all of our incredible fans across the UK, who have supported us constantly over many years."

Torvill and Dean performed once last emotional dance during the final of the 2025 season of Dancing on Ice which left both the audience and the stars themselves in tears. They have announced plans to embark on a final farewell tour, called "Our Last Dance", which is set to delight fans in cities including London, , Birmingham, and Glasgow.

has not confirmed a new season of Dancing on Ice, prompting speculation that the show will not return. Torvill and Dean have said that they would not rule out taking part in the show as judges again if the series is to be renewed.