Robin Cousins

Robin Cousins (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater. He is the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time (1978, 1979 & 1980) World medalist and four-time (1977, 1978, 1979 & 1980) British national champion. He later starred in ice shows and also produced his own. He has also appeared in theatre productions, including in the West End, and has commentated on figure skating events for the BBC. Since 2006 he has been on the panel of judges on ITV's Dancing on Ice and takes the position of head judge.

Robin Cousins was born in Bristol to Jo, a secretary, and Fred, a civil servant, who was earlier a goalkeeper for Millwall. Cousins has two older brothers, Martin and Nick. He left school at age 16 to focus on skating. After moving to London, he found a job stacking shelves at a department store.

Cousins lives in Brighton.

Robin Cousins on a 1980 Paraguay stamp

Cousins first stepped onto the ice at age nine at Westover Road Ice Rink while on holiday in Bournemouth. Having enjoyed the experience, he requested lessons for Christmas a year and a half later. He won his first national title in 1969 at the age of twelve on the novice level. By age fourteen, he was Britain's junior champion, and he made his international debut that same year.

As a young skater, Cousins also trained in ice dancing at the same time as singles, his first coach being a dancer, Ms Pamela Davies. He was later coached by Carlo Fassi. Cousins is able to spin in both directions.

Cousins represented the United Kingdom as an amateur skater for eight years, winning the national senior Championships for four consecutive years. At the 1977 World Championships, his left knee cartilage ripped and locked in place. By 1980, he had undergone major surgery on both his left and right knees. He has had eight operations in total, including a knee replacement in his fifties.

Cousins won the free skating portion of the World Championships three times, 1978 through 1980. He won silver medals at the World Championships in 1979 and 1980. He reached the pinnacle of his amateur ice skating career by winning the European Championships gold medal, and also winning the Winter Olympic Games gold medal in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.

Cousins followed this with a successful career as a professional ice skater. He starred in such skating shows as Holiday on Ice and Ice Capades, and he was a regular in the World Professional Championships. He hit both the longest axel jump and longest back flip on figure skates in Guinness World Records, reaching 5.81 m (19 ft 1 in) and 5.48 m (18 ft) on 16 November 1983.

In 1983, Cousins formed his own ice skating performance company, which toured the world with the programs Electric Ice and Ice Majesty. He has starred in, produced, directed, and/or choreographed many international TV ice shows, including The Nutcracker: A Fantasy on Ice, Sleeping Beauty on Ice, The Wizard of Oz on Ice, Toy Story on Ice, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express on Ice, Holiday on Ice, and the movie The Cutting Edge. Over several years, Cousins has been a regular guest presenter and commentator for BBC Sport, for the European and World Figure Skating Championships and the Winter Olympics. He appeared as the head judge on the show Dancing on Ice in each series since 2006.

Cousins has performed on stage. He played the Prince in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Munkustrap in Cats, and Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show in the West End. He has also performed pantomime, playing Jack Frost in Santa Clause and the Return of Jack Frost at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton. Prior to this he played the Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Grand Opera House, Belfast.

Cousins was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1980 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in his home city of Bristol. On 10 March 2012 Cousins appeared in the gameshow All Star Family Fortunes. He appeared on Tipping Point (game show) in August 2013.

Cousins has also worked with the British synchronized swimming team. In 2005, he was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

In March 2016 Cousins joined Art of the Olympians (AOTO)

Cousins is a significant patron of the Meningitis UK organization and the Starr Trust children's charity in Brighton.

Amateur career

Professional career