IT'S more than 30 years since Torvill and Dean stole the hearts of the world with their captivating Bolero routine, a Gold medal winning piece of ice skating brilliance.

A truly great moment in sport, ranking alongside England's famous 1966 World Cup winning win.

Three decades after skating their way to global stardom, the duo are about to make their panto debut in Cinderella at the Opera House.

Jayne and Christopher, once at the centre of a sporting fairytale, are to play the Fairy Godparents.

She said they had been asked previously to be panto, but were forced to refuse the invitation because of their commitments as coaches, choreographers and performers on the ITV show Dancing On Ice.

Jayne added: "Over the Christmas period were very busy with that. But that's finished now and we finally had the opportunity to do the panto and it's great to do it here in Manchester."

Fans will also get the chance to see ice skating's golden couple skate "in a fashion."

Christopher said: "They're not putting ice down but we've got these inline blades that look like skates. We've got some tricks up our sleeve that were going to use. When the audience come they'll be surprised at some of the things that they see."

"We will be instrumental in making things happen. Our main goal is to get Cinders to the Ball and get her married off."

He said there is an element of acting when executing choreography on the ice but Jayne and Chris are relishing the new challenges being in a panto poses, like learning lines and having the audience at close quarters.

It would be impossible to meet this affable and attentive duo without asking them about the Bolero routine. Why do they think the routine captured the global imagination in the way that it did?

Jayne said: "I think a lot of people could relate to the love story of the piece and then of course the fact that it won us a gold medal at the Olympics. People remember that and since we did it we've continued to do it year after year. People still remember it, which is a big compliment."

The routine pulled in the sort of viewing figures that today's TV viewers can only dream of, with 24 million people tuning in to watch a piece of ice skating perfection.

Christopher said: "From that moment on, we became more than sports stars."

* Cinderella is at the Opera House, Manchester, from December 6 to January 3. Anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0844 871 3018.