Bury Hospice staged its biggest annual fundraiser last weekend – Strictly Best Foot Forward 2022.

In front of a star studded judging panel, sixteen couples danced their hearts out to raise money for Bury Hospice. Each couple had their own reasons for taking part, many of whom had experienced the amazing care and support provided by the Hospice.

The event was led by Bury Hospice trustee and fundraising volunteer, Deborah Lisle and took place at Swinton Masonic Hall over two nights on Friday, November 25th and Saturday, November 26th. There was also an afternoon tea dance and contestants showcase on Saturday afternoon (November 26th). All of the shows were incredibly uplifting – and lots of fun.

Each year the glamorous competition raises thousands of pounds to help us care for our patients and support their families.

The dance couples, many of whom had never danced before, braved the dance floor to perform in front of an audience to showcase their waltz and then a speciality dance after an intensive three-month training regime at LARK Dance, Drama & Gymnastics, who donated their studio for the rehearsals and dance teachers who have given their time for free.

Bury Hospice is fortunate to have such amazing support from the people of Bury. It is touching to see how much effort people are prepared to put in to raise money or how much time they give up to make a difference.

Our judges were Bury Hospice ambassador and Coronation Street star, Sally Carman-Duttine and her co-star Vicky Myres, Molly Robbins, who is well known for her work in the hit Channel 4/Netflix series ‘Extreme Cake Makers’, Carl Austin-Behan OBE, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester and professional dance teachers, Alison Park and Alan Newman.

The champions on the night were Kelsey Lashmar and Maggie Fraser who lifted the glitterball trophy to be crowned winners of Strictly Best Foot Forward 2022.

Deborah Lisle said: “What an amazing two days we have had fundraising through dance. Our contestants shone like glitterballs and danced from their hearts. Our guests were blown away by their performances. Our events team worked so hard to create three successful performances and everyone involved loved every minute. I am so proud of everyone’s achievements and cannot thank everyone enough. Here’s hoping everyone keeps dancing.”

The event was "strictly fabulous" and has raised nearly £37,000.

It costs £3.5m to run Bury Hospice and we have to fund over £3m via our income generation teams including fundraising, retail and lottery.

If you would like to support Bury Hospice and our Strictly 2022 dancers, you can donate on their JustGiving page until the end of January 2023. https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/burystrictly2022

Deborah concludes: “Watch out for our Strictly 2023 recruitment campaign to enlist our next dance troop to compete in Strictly Best Foot Forward 2023!”