Torvill and Dean were honoured in the New Year Honours List with a damehood and knighthood, alongside recognition for England’s women’s football and rugby teams.

Picture by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

By William Imbo30 December 2025 20:36 GMT+72 min read

Olympic figure skating champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have been named in the UK’s New Year Honours List for services to the sport and to voluntary service.

The New Year Honours are published annually and confer state honours, granted in the name of the monarch, for contributions to areas such as sport, charity and public life. Torvill has been appointed a dame, and Dean has been knighted.

The Nottingham-born duo achieved global prominence at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, where they won ice dancing gold with a performance to Ravel’s Boléro that earned a series of perfect scores. The routine remains one of the most recognisable moments in Olympic history to this day.

They later won four world titles and four European titles, and added Olympic bronze at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer.

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Ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean turn in a flawless display to earn perfect marks and Winter Olympic gold at Sarajevo 1984.

The honours list also recognised England’s women’s football and rugby teams. England manager Sarina Wiegman was made an honorary dame (as a Dutch national) after leading the Lionesses to a second European Championship title this year.

Captain Leah Williamson was appointed Commander of Order of the British Empire (CBE), while Alex Greenwood, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway, and Ella Toone were all made Members of the British Empire (MBE).

England’s Women’s rugby union team, which won the 2025 World Cup on home soil in September, were also represented. Head coach John Mitchell and captain Zoe Stratford (formerly Aldcroft) were appointed Officers of the British Empire (OBE), with Marlie Packer also receiving an OBE and MBEs awarded to Megan Jones, Sadia Kabeya, and Ellie Kildunne.

Other Olympians recognised include marathon runner Paula Radcliffe with an OBE for services to sport, and Olympic champions Rhys McClenaghan and Toby Roberts with MBEs for services to gymnastics and sport climbing respectively.