Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have been forced apart for the first time in their glittering 40 year career due to coronavirus.
The skating duo, who shot to worldwide fame after winning gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics, will be back on screen this weekend for the new series of Dancing and Ice.
Torvill and Dean will return to the judging panel alongside Ashley Banjo and John Barrowman but, in a huge change for this year, all four will be separated by perspex screens, just like the panel on fellow ITV show The Masked Singer.
But that's not the only change forced upon producers by the COVID-19 pandemic as Torvill and Dean won't be able to skate together live on the ice or even touch.
Chris, 62, said: “I can’t touch Jayne and dance with her and skate with her.
“We have to have two-metre separation or a screen, and talk through masks off camera. It’s surreal.”
Jayne, 63, added: “I haven’t met Chris in person this year, it will be strange I can’t give him a hug, I will have to keep remembering.”
While the pair won't be taking to the rink as cameras roll on the new series of Dancing on Ice, viewers won't be deprived on seeing them skate together entirely as, just like the professional skaters on the show, they pre-recorded a few routines before Christmas.
The Dancing on Ice lineup for this year includes Rebekah Vardy, Jason Donovan and Myleene Klass, with the first batch of celebs taking to the rink for the first time on Sunday's launch show.
One skater who won't be there is pro Yebin Mok after she suffered a horror injury in training, when she was stabbed in the leg by a blade and required immediate medical assistance.
Yebin is paired with Olympian skier Graham Bell for the new series and, rather than perform with another pro, Graham, who represented Great Britain at five Winter Olympics in the 1980s and 90s, will also sit out Sunday's live show.
