Dancing on Ice axed as Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean get their skates on

Dancing on Ice has been axed after its skating mentors Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean said they were leaving the show.

The ITV celebrity contest has suffered plummeting ratings in recent years, and channel boss Peter Fincham said the departure of its stars meant the programme had “reached a natural end”.

Torvill, 55, and Dean, 54, have been with the show since it launched in 2006, but the ninth series, which will be shown next January, will be the last. The pair, who won figure-skating gold medal in the 1984 winter Olympics with their Bolero routine, said they intended to complete a final live tour of the show next March.

In a statement, they said: “Next year will be the 30th anniversary of Bolero and our gold medal in Sarajevo and for us, it seems a fitting time to say goodbye. We wanted to go out on a high.

“We are extremely proud of the skating legacy that we have built up. We will miss it hugely and would like to thank all the viewers and fans for their continued support.”

Mr Fincham, director of ITV, said: “Torvill and Dean are the most successful ice dancing partnership of our generation and brought huge integrity, skill and professionalism to the show, and with their departure, it feels like the series has reached its natural end.”

Dancing on Ice attracted huge audiences when it launched. In 2011 it hit a high of 11.7 million viewers for the final. But this year’s contest, won by Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle, slumped to its lowest ratings, with only 6.94 million watching the final.

The show has become known as much for its romances, accidents and judging controversies as for the skating. Labour peer Oona King’s stint came to a dramatic end when she accidentally tripped partner Mark Hanretty, causing him to dislocate his shoulder, while judge Jason Gardiner caused controversy with his acerbic comments.

In this year’s series, Coronation Street actress Samia Ghadie and her skating partner Sylvain Longchambon were romantically linked and left their respective partners.

The London Dancing On Ice show runs nightly at 7.30pm from April 1-3 at Wembley Arena. 08448150815