DOI star Christopher Dean’s tragedies – illness, affairs and abandonment

March 5, 2023

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Olympic medallist Christopher Dean is known for his skating prowess from Olympics to being the talent behind ITV's Dancing On Ice, but he's suffered with health scares and personal drama behind the scenes.

Yet Chris, 64, didn't always have such success in his life – his early years were in fact littered with tragedy.

The skating star has spoken candidly about the impact of his younger years on his bid for success including winning gold at the 1984 Olympics.

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We've looked into the life of Dancing On Ice's Christopher Dean and the tragic heartbreak he's bounced back from…

Mother's abandonment

As a young child, Chris grew up in a small mining village in Nottingham with his parents Mavis and Colin.

His happy family life was rocked when Chris, aged just six, was told his mother would be leaving following the discovery that his father had an affair.

Discussing the moment he was told she would be leaving, Chris told the Daily Mail:"I pleaded with her not to go but she didn’t say a thing. No answer. I remember holding her hand as we walked home, still crying and pleading with her not to go."

He added: "It was very much a taboo subject. My mother had just seemed to disappear and I was never once given any news as to her whereabouts or wellbeing. She was never far away from my thoughts, though."

Father's love affair

Chris' father's affair resulted in his parents divorce and a new stepmother in his life.

Yet despite his father's affair being the reason for his mother leaving and being the cause of huge upheaval in his life, Chris insists his relationship was still strong with his father up until his death.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Chris shared: "My dad was my constant in life, he was my hero. The one person I knew who would always be there for me. That alone was monumentally important after my mum left.

Dad and I never had an especially deep relationship, but that wasn’t exclusive to me. If anything it was a generational thing. He was the strong, silent type – a typical miner. We never hugged or said that we loved each other, but I knew he did."

Life changing illness

Alongside upheaval in family life and balancing it with a successful skating career, things were starting to go well for Chris until he was dealt a worrying health concern in 2015.

The star was told he might have bowel cancer when his GP flagged polyps and needed further tests.

Luckily for Chris, the results showed there was no cancer present.

Speaking to The Express last year, Chris revealed: "Luckily, in the end, the biopsy results came back and the polyp was benign.

"I can’t tell you the relief I felt and it really did help me put things into perspective."

He added: "But the body is an amazing tool and it strives to repair itself as much as it can."

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