Well, look-a there, look-a there, look-a there, look-a there, ooh wee!
Well my Strictly Come Dancing days are now over and while there are many parts of it that I miss, on the night, when I looked out and saw 1,000 people waiting to see me dance the fox trot to Reet Petite the words “ooh wee” almost took on a very literal meaning!
After months of training, the excitement of the challenge, the gorgeous dress and the FABULOUS shoes melted away and I wondered what the hell I was doing. And then I remembered. This isn’t about me – it’s about having fun, it’s about doing a three-minute dance to help some people who have real challenges in their life that last much longer than a Jackie Wilson song.
A slice of the money raised on the night was going to a very special Cancer Care West charity called Rock Rose House, which offers emotional and practical support to people diagnosed with cancer. Named after the Rock Rose flower, which is famous for flourishing in places where other flora cannot, it is a symbol of survival against adversity.
I’ve heard a rumour that my dance partner Ed Rose – who had never met me before we started dancing together - is now campaigning to have that symbol of survival against adversity changed to a picture of him! And he would deserve it! Thank you Ed and all of the Strictly team. Hand on heart, I can honestly say it has been a great honour to spend time with you and the one thing I will take away from the whole training experience is the laughter.
I may not have won the competition, I may not be a cutie, a tutti frutti or even the finest girl you’ll ever meet but I’m proud of myself for doing it and if the crowd who witnessed it ever recover from the experience the line I hope they’ll all remember is “She's all right, she's got what it takes . . . .” I can’t ask for more than that.
