"The People's Strictly for Comic Relief"
In 2015 the BBC, for the first time ever, opened the doors of "Strictly Come Dancing" (the UK version of "Dancing with the Stars") ballroom to non-celebrities. We were six "ordinary members of the public who were doing extraordinary things." We were chosen out of over 11,000 nominations, selected for our charity work, giving back to the community, and overcoming adversity.
You can find out more here
How it began...
In the middle of November 2014, my sisters persuaded me to have a "girl's night out" at what they said was the filming of a Zumba DVD. As one of my sisters is a Zumba instructor, it didn't sound at all strange. I almost didn't go though because it was a Friday night, I was exhausted after the working week and my MS fatigue was really kicking in. They managed to get me out of the house and over to Hammersmith, where we were greeted by the DVD "host" who was another Zumba instructor from London.
There were little things that I thought were a bit odd - nobody had bottles of water, some people were wearing sparkly heeled dance shoes (not at all practical for Zumba) and I weirdly felt like people were looking at me (but told myself I was being paranoid!). This is what happened next.....
Four months of hard work and fun!
It was literally a dream come true doing Strictly. It was the hardest thing I've ever done: physically, mentally and emotionally! But everyone was so brilliant and supportive - my professional dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec, the production crew, the other five contestants, the other professional dancers, all the studio crew, my family, the public, the patient community.... the list goes on!
I had four months of filming, dance training (I was dancing a jive), working full-time and managing my MS. So it was tough! But it was also the most amazing experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat! I was thrown into a world of glitter and sparkle, as well as hard work and dedication - I remember one day when my alarm was set for 4.30am and I didn't get to bed until 2am that night!
Most importantly, it was a chance to share my MS story with millions of people in the UK and around the world. It opened up conversations and threw MS directly into the spotlight, raising awareness and educating about what it can be like to live with this condition. This gives you a flavour of what I got up to!
I learnt all about the jive with my Strictly mentor Olympic gymnasting legend Louis Smith!
It was all glamour and sparkle when we were filming the opening titles for the show...
It was amazing to meet the other contestants and hear about the wonderful things they've been doing to help communities and those in need
We even got the chance to dance for Strictly judge Craig Revel-Horwood at Wembley Arena!
And we got a taste of celebrity life with numerous interviews in the press, TV and radio
And suddenly it was Show Day!
After months of training and filming, suddenly the show day was upon us! It was such a privilege to have the opportunity to dance on the famed Strictly dancefloor at Elstree Studios, with the live band and singers (abley led as always by Dave Arch) and to meet the other judges (Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli, Len Goodman and Anton Du Beke), presenters Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman, the rest of the production crew and be reunited with our Strictly mentors (Louis Smith, Alison Hammond, Lisa Riley, Jake Woods, Kimberly Walsh and Russell Grant). We were tanned, sparkled and had our costumes and makeup customised just for us. The team that goes into making this show is nothing less than extraordinary and everyone was just amazingly supportive and welcoming. We were joined in the studio by friends, family and lots of people who had applied for tickets. It was nerve-wracking but the most fabulous experience EVER!
Watch Aljaz and I jive to "Runaround Sue"
The Strictly group dances are legendary and this was no exception - it was the most number of dancers they'd had at any one time on the Strictly floor for a group dance to date!
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