POLITICIAN turned TV celebrity dancer Ann Widdecombe waltzed into Bury as part of a nationwide tour to promote her new autobiography.

Apart from taking part in a successful coffee morning at the Fusilier Museum, in Moss Street, she also visited the new Bury Hospice of which she is a long-standing patron.

Speaking afterwards, the former MP and Minister of State for the Department of Employment, then the Home Office, said she had been impressed by Bury Hospice.

She declared the modern venue as “certainly different — but, like any state-of-the-art place, it will need regular funding to keep it that way.”

During her visit to the Fusilier Museum, she chatted to members of the public and signed copies of her book, entitled “Strictly Ann.”

Helen Smith, general manager at the museum, said: “The event was brilliant and Ann chatted with lots of people. We gave her a tour of the museum and told her all about the Lancashire Fusiliers. And we presented her with a Fusilier bronze figurine.”

After deciding to stand down before the 2010 General Election, the ex-politician went on to enjoy celebrity status, along the way becoming a successful novelist with four books published and a fifth under way, as well as a memorable stint on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.