After gliding away from the white hot heat of Olympic competition, Stacey Kemp and David King decided on a chill-out treat for themselves. It was a seven month trip round the Caribbean performing on a giant cruise liner that set sail from Texas.

There wasn’t the intensity of competition but it wasn’t without its perils: “The rinks took quite a bit of getting used to and we were smashing into the boards for the first couple of months,” laughs David.

“And the children would drop popcorn on the ice.

“But we really enjoyed it. We put a lot of our lives on hold to skate, it was a treat to ourselves.”

The first cruise came just two months after Sochi and Stacey says: “It was a lot less stressful after competing for such a long time to such a high level.

“It took us a while to get used to it but we enjoyed skating to a crowd, rather than judges.”

They had earned the treat after almost a decade of competition skating.

As well as the contests, the couple would practise from 8am until 4pm Monday to Friday and had a life spent in and out of suitcases.

They have competed all over the world with Team GB badges on their glittery outfits.

They’ve skated at the Olympics in Vancouver and Sochi, they are record nine-time British pairs ice skating champions at junior and senior level and have claimed numerous international medals.

They were the first figure skaters to represent Britain at the Winter Olympics in nearly 20 years when they finished 16th in Vancouver in 2010.

But after Sochi, they quit the competition side of the sport for the entertainment industry and are now figuring out a new future together.

The Caribbean trip was followed by another eight months aboard a cruise to the Far East and Australia.

It gave Stacey, 27, a chance to visit relatives she’d never seen but two long trips was enough.

“We have spent more than eight years living abroad and going to competitions and it is almost a year on board the ship,” explains David.

The couple finally returned to Cumbria last November, but this year has seen two more key engagements: they recently attended the Queen’s Garden Party along with other members of the Sochi Winter Olympics squad and more importantly, the long-time partners finally tied the knot in April.

Stacey King and David King photo

David, 32, says: “The garden party gave us the chance to meet up with old mates from the GB team and people you don’t see on TV – the backroom staff who are absolutely fantastic.

“And our wedding was brilliant. Stacey did all the organising and did an amazing job.”

But they are both still performers at heart and there was one big production that they couldn’t resist taking part in.

After performing on the ocean wave, they are about to star in the next big Hot Ice show at Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach.

This summer’s spectacular is the 80th anniversary, so it will be an extra special production.

The couple have been asked to take part before and Stacey explains: “We decided to do it now because it is the 80th anniversary.

“Rehearsals start mid-June and the show runs from July until September, two shows a day, so it is pretty intense and a lot of work.

“The choreographer will have the show worked out but we will have some say, we are known for our through-jumps, our lifts, death spirals and twist lifts.”

David adds: “They are keeping the theme of the show quiet but Amanda Thompson, who produces and directs it, knows why she has got us in.”

The couple say they have now done enough travelling and want to set down roots in Cumbria and concentrate on the next phase of their careers and lives.

For Stacey, that’s coaching youngsters, while David enjoys judging at the weekends, while helping dad Michael in his jewellery business near Thursby during the week.

<div class="PullQuote">We are enjoying the coaching side, it is nice to pass your knowledge on</div>

That involves travelling up and down to the Dumfries ice rink. A return to his roots, a journey back in time to when he was a teenager and would put in hours of pre-dawn practice before going to Nelson Thomlinson school in Wigton.

He recalls: “I would get up at 4.30am, we’d get there around six and I would skate until around 7.30, then we’d be back for Wigton at 8.30am.

“I don’t know how I did it. If you want to do something, there is always a way. I couldn’t do it now!”

Stacey coaches at the Fylde Coast Ice Arena in Blackpool where they used to practise as a couple and where she teaches learner skaters of all ages.

Her keen eye has already picked out some possible stars for the future: “There are a few good kids and there’s a good pair.

“We are enjoying the coaching side, it is nice to pass your knowledge on to younger children.

“We want to start building up our coaching. We are just enjoying being home after being abroad for so long.

“I moved away from home when I was 14 for skating.

“We’ve not made any plans. There are a few shows that people keep asking us to do, ice shows around Christmas time. There’s one in Spain that looks nice.”

After Hot Ice finishes in September, they have one more overseas assignment: a honeymoon in South Africa.