Ice skater Christopher Dean suspects he has arthritis thanks to years on the rink.

Dean, 59, and Jayne Torvill, 60, scooped their first trophy together in 1976 and won Olympic gold with their Bolero routine in 1984.

Dean told the Daily Mirror: “The knees don’t bend quite as deeply as they used to. I think I have arthritis in my knees. I just manage it.

“I can still skate, paracetamol helps.

“I’m pretty reckless – I’ll deal with it later.”

The comments came as the pair, who have been on the rink individually, skated together for the first time in four years, for the Dancing On Ice tour.

Fellow Dancing On Ice judge Torvill added: “My back does not arch as much, that’s the place that starts to hurt first with me.

“I don’t think I have arthritis yet but we have skated well into our 50s, which is unusual for any athlete.”