Minions, music and medals: The art of figure skating with Robin Cousins and Benoit Richaud

Ilia Malinin, Kaori Sakamoto and Matteo Rossi are among the figure skaters who've already lit up the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Figure skating and ice dance are among the most-watched sports at any Games, with crowds enthralled by the flair, risk and technical brilliance. But what goes into making a winning routine? Ed Harry speaks to Benoit Richaud and Robin Cousins, two men who know what it takes to wow judges, stadiums and viewers around the world.

Benoit Richaud is one of figure skating's most acclaimed and in-demand choreographers. He's working with 16 skaters at this year's Games, including Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate, with whom he devised a routine based on the hit Minions movie franchise that's already hit the headlines all over the world. Benoit explains how music is at the root of everything he does, why he visualises his programmes as being like cinema, and his search for viral moments that will connect with audiences in the arena and at home.

Robin Cousins became a sporting hero in the UK when he won men's figure skating gold at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. Now a commentator for the BBC, he's spent more than 50 years at the heart of figure skating, having choreographed his first routine as a 12-year-old junior. Robin discusses how the sport has been transformed in that time, the vital importance of emotional connection between performers, music and the audience, and the moments that make him sit up and take notice. He also reveals why, though it may not challenge for medals, Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate's Minions routine is among his favourites in this year's field.

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