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<\/p>\nAs Strictly’s oldest ever contestant, Angela Rippon says she is being hailed a heroine by other women her age \u2013 and loving it.<\/p>\n
The former newsreader who turns 79 next month, says she can\u2019t even do her weekly shop without being praised for championing the over-70s.<\/p>\n
And she teased the possibility that she may do the splits on the show \u2013 which would be sure to win her even more plaudits.<\/p>\n
Ms Rippon, who hosted the original Come Dancing in the late 1980s, said: \u2018I\u2019ve had a lot of women come up and say to me, \u201cOh we\u2019re so pleased that you\u2019re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018When I was shopping in Waitrose at the checkout, the lady standing next to me said, \u201cYou don\u2019t know me but I just want you to know that all my friends, like me, say that women of our age and with our hair colour become invisible, but thank you because you\u2019re going to make headlines for us.\u201d \u2019<\/p>\n
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Angela Rippon says she can’t even do her weekly shop without being praised for championing the over 70s and jokes that she may do the splits while on Strictly<\/p>\n
Ms Rippon says that it is a role she is delighted to have \u2013 as she wants to send the message to women her age that nothing is impossible and that life in later years is still to be enjoyed. She says: \u2018I think the message to get across is that if this 79-year-old can do it, then so can you. So get out there and just do it, and enjoy it.<\/p>\n
\u2018I hope that I can get older people dancing, who aren\u2019t dancing already. Touch wood, I haven\u2019t had a single twinge.\u2019<\/p>\n
In 1976, Ms Rippon stunned the 27 million viewers of the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special when she emerged from behind her newsreader\u2019s desk to perform a high-kicking dance routine to Irving Berlin\u2019s showtune Let\u2019s Face The Music And Dance.<\/p>\n
Forty-seven years on, Ms Rippon says she is so flexible that she can still do the splits \u2013 and has not ruled out the possibility of doing so on Strictly.<\/p>\n
She says: \u2018You\u2019ll have to ask the choreographer about this. I think I owe it to the audience, I owe it to the producers and most of all I owe it to my partner to be able to do my very, very best, and I will channel whatever it takes so that I don\u2019t let them down.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms Rippon, who presented the non-celebrity show Come Dancing from 1988 to 1991, has no time for doubts about her ability to dance because of her age.<\/p>\n
She says: \u2018Everyone\u2019s asked me about my age but I never think about it. I really don\u2019t, it\u2019s not important. Up here somewhere, in my brain, I\u2019m still 30.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms Rippon, who led a Shape Up And Dance fitness movement during the 1980s, says dancing in older age can help keep your mind sharp.<\/p>\n
She says: \u2018I\u2019ve been around dancers for such a long time that my brain and my head know what to do, although my body is saying, \u201cWhat the hell do you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018But we know that dance is the best exercise as you get older, for mind and body .<\/p>\n
\u2018It does all the right things, strength, core, all the right things \u2013 flexibility, mind, you\u2019re using your brain all the time.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Angela Rippon presenting Strictly’s predecessor Come Dancing in 1988<\/p>\n
Ms Rippon signed up to Strictly after making a brief guest appearance on the show in 2022, prompting viewers to call for her to be given a more prominent role. In an episode marking the BBC\u2019s centenary, she introduced Kym Marsh and her professional dance partner Graziano Di Prima to the floor for their routine to Ballroom Blitz by Sweet.<\/p>\n
Ms Rippon became the first female journalist to permanently present BBC TV\u2019s national news reports in 1975. She went on to co-found TV-am and now co-hosts Rip Off Britain for the BBC with Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville.<\/p>\n
Until now, the oldest Strictly contestants were 72-year-olds Johnny Ball and Paul Daniels.<\/p>\n
Children\u2019s TV presenter Ball, father of DJ Zoe, took part in 2012. Magician Daniels, who appeared in 2010, died in 2016.<\/p>\n
Former Birds of a Feather actress Lesley Joseph was 71 when she competed in 2019.<\/p>\n
Casualty’s Nigel Harman has left the BBC soap so he won\u2019t have to combine its gruelling filming schedule with practising for Strictly.<\/p>\n
Nigel, 50, below, who has played Dr Max Christie in the medical drama since February, says: \u2018My time on Casualty is done for the time being.<\/p>\n
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Casualty’s Nigel Harman has left the show so he won’t have to film while training for Strictly<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m on screen until early next year and there are no plans for me to go back to the show at the moment.\u2019<\/p>\n
Nigel, who has also been in EastEnders, adds that he hopes Strictly will \u2018boost my confidence\u2019.<\/p>\n
West End favourite Layton Williams, right, hasn\u2019t ruled out shaking up the show with a spot of drag.<\/p>\n
His participation in Strictly has raised eyebrows because he danced as Billy Elliot on the stage and also played a young Michael Jackson in Thriller \u2013 Live.<\/p>\n
Layton, 28, says of waltzing out in drag: \u2018I love being playful with my fashion, so if there\u2019s an opportunity where it feels right in the moment, then why not?<\/p>\n
\u2018I will give you what feels comfortable, it will never be a reach. It will be something that will be authentically me and I need to represent myself as well as my community. I\u2019m ready for all things, ready to be Strictly-fied.\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Channel 4 newscaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy has revealed his decision to join Strictly isn\u2019t popular with everyone.<\/p>\n
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West End star Layton Williams has not ruled out waltzing in drag\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Channel 4 news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy says his 16-year-old son isn’t positive about his decision to appear on the show<\/p>\n
The 53-year-old says his wife approves \u2013 but he should have gone on to consult the whole family.<\/p>\n
He says: \u2018Everyone\u2019s been very, very positive, but my 16-year-old son is not a fan.<\/p>\n
\u2018He said, \u201cOh God, there are going to be so many terrible videos of you on the internet for ever.\u201d \u2019<\/p>\n
Comic Les Dennis has revealed it\u2019s no joke getting fit for the show \u2013 as he is walking 10,000 steps a day.<\/p>\n
Les, who turns 70 next month, said: \u2018We did some dancing yesterday, and today I couldn\u2019t get up.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019ve got myself fitter in the last month or so, which is a great challenge. I\u2019ve made sure I\u2019ve got my steps in, I\u2019ve been going out walking. I can\u2019t run any more as I got a new knee a couple of years ago. My step count is over 10,000 and I\u2019m definitely eating healthier.\u2019<\/p>\n