Angela Rippon, 80, reveals her secret to keeping fit as she launches new health initiative: ‘It improves your outlook on life’
Broadcasting legend Angela Rippon has told GB News how dancing has helped her stay fit and healthy for 75 years, as she prepares to launch her latest fitness venture.
Rippon, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, revealed she was inspired to create a new dance event after being “overwhelmed” by support during her time on the show.
Rippon told hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ellie Costello: “I’ve been dancing since I was five, one way or another, and I’m now 80, so 75 years I’ve been dancing. I’ve always known, as have dance teachers all over the country, that dance is actually the best form of exercise you can possibly do.
“It’s not just good for your body, but it’s also great for your mind, for your mental health, for your happiness, for your outlook on life. And of course, you have to use your brain to remember what you’re doing, so it’s great for all sorts of things.”
Recalling the moment she was inspired to reach out to dance companies across the country to get Britons moving, Rippon said the idea was sparked after hearing Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty on the radio.
Rippon said: “When I was doing Strictly, I got wonderful reaction from the public. I was just overwhelmed with a lot of people saying that I’d inspired them to think about dance. And I thought, how can I put these two things together?
“I was listening to Chris Whitty on on radio saying that because the National Health Service is having such financial difficulties, it would help if we all took more responsibility for our own health – play football, go to a gym, why not dance? And I thought, that’s what I can do.”
Detailing her national Let’s Dance event, taking place on Sunday March 2, Rippon revealed: “Our National Day of Dance has dance teachers literally from the Channel Islands to Orkney and everything in between – Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, the whole of England.
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“Dance teachers are going to be opening their doors on Sunday and saying, come and see what dance can you do for you as an exercise which will get you fit, but you’ll have fun at the same time.”
Highlighting the joy she feels when she dances, Rippon claimed that “anybody can dance”, and the joy of dance is felt by everyone “when they are babies”.
Rippon explained: “If you watch babies, as soon as they can walk and they hear music, they move to music – I don’t want to get technical about it, but it’s all to do with the hippocampus at the back of the brain, which reacts to music, and it’s something you can do whatever your age.
“You don’t need to be a dancer, you don’t need to be a professional, anybody can dance.”
Echoing the advice she received whilst on her dance fitness journey, Rippon recalled the words of a woman called Eileen Fowler, who told her the “body is a machine which must be kept moving”.
Rippon concluded: “I met this wonderful woman when I was in my 20s, a lady called Eileen Fowler. She was the sort of the Jane Fonda of the 1940s and 50s. She bounced into the studio and she said something quite profound.
“She said, you’ve got to remember that the human body is a machine, and like any machine, it has millions of moving parts. And if you don’t keep those moving parts oiled and moving, they will seize up, they will rust, they will stop working.
“So if you keep your body moving, if you keep all the little bits working, then hopefully you’ll go into old age still being fit and having your mobility, and that’s important.”