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The legendary newsreader, 79, has been stopped everywhere by members of the public, saying she has given them a new lease of life by “flying the flag for older women”.
Angela, who was partnered with professional dancer Kai Widdrington, some 51 years her junior, said that while she was still “fit and flexible” she knew she would never win the series. The couple exited last week.
She said: “I was at the supermarket checkout and the lady next to me tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘I’m so pleased you are doing Strictly because women of our age and our hair colour – we were both grey – we disappear and we become invisible. But you’re going to make a few headlines for us!’
“I was so touched by that and hope I can get that message across. I think that one of the things I have found completely overwhelming in all of this is the comments that I have had.
“Online yes, and in the street, in the supermarket, when I have been on the bus, people have come up to me and stopped me. They used the word inspirational and said, ‘We know that you are 79’. But the number of people who have written or said to me in person that I have been an inspiration to them, and flying the flag for older women, that I have persuaded people to be fitter, to do something physical, has been overwhelming.
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“I was speaking to Kai earlier and he said, ‘Have you seen what’s on the internet?’ Apparently half a million people had liked us and had added comments about how inspirational we have been.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Angela said: “I could get that message across that dancing is not just a joyous thing to do but one of the ways that, as you get older, when you get into your 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, it will help you in your mind and your body, to stay stronger, stay fitter and more flexible.
“If I can get that message across, just by having done what I have done, that will be my Glitterball. I will see that as an achievement.”
● Strictly Come Dancing: The Results, tonight, 7.20pm, BBC One
