Angela Rippon on her first Strictly rehearsals on set
Angela Rippon has admitted that being back on Strictly Come Dancing makes her feel “like a grandmother” after head judge Shirley Ballas’ comment.
The 78-year-old is the BBC one dance show’s oldest ever contestant. When asked about Shirley writing in her memoir that she always watched Angela when she was in the 1991 UK Championships and made it to the final, the veteran presenter said: “I feel like a grandmother!
“When I met one of the senior choreographers for Strictly, he said, ‘You won’t remember, but I was a contestant on Come Dancing.'”
“One of the professionals told me, ‘I’m a dancer because of you. I stayed up late to watch Come Dancing and you were the presenter,’” she added to Radio Times.
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“And three of the other pros told me their teachers were contestants aswell. It’s come full circle, from the late 1980s to now. It’s super that they all said that.”
On Saturday, Angela, who will turn 79 on October 12, left viewers gobsmacked with her debut performance on Strictly.
The former newsreader, who is partnered up with Kai Widdrington, performed to Shirley Bassey’s Get the Party Started on Saturday evening.
She donned a short silver tasselled dress and ended her uptempo routine with a high kick which even left the judging panel speechless.
Following her performance, viewers flocked to social media to comment on Angela’s incredible moves.
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The judges, including Ballas, were blown away and all scored Angela sevens, pushing her to the top of the leaderboard.
One fan tweeted: “For 78 that high kick was amazing!!!! Ripping up the dancefloor!!!” (sic) Another gushed: “Angela Rippon has fabulous legs… I’m no expert but that looked good to me, brilliant from Angela #Strictly.”
A third said: “Angela Rippon just tore the roof off #Strictly and I’m struggling to get off the sofa to reach the biscuits.”
While one viewer remarked: “Angela Rippon is 78. That was incredible #strictly.”
This year’s celebrity line-up consists of Layton Williams, Zara McDermott, Angela Rippon, Angela Scanlon, Adam Thomas, Annabel Croft, Bobby Brazier, Amanda Abbington, Eddie Kadi, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Ellie Leach, Nigel Harman and Les Dennis.
Bobby is the current favourite to win this year’s series with his odds at 3/1.
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