Strictly's Angela Rippon makes heartbreaking death confession after turning 80
Broadcasting icon Angela Rippon has opened up about her passion for dance as she gets older after returning to the ballroom on Strictly
Veteran broadcaster Angela Rippon has vowed to “die young as late as possible” in a candid death confession. On Tuesday July 22), the TV presenter, who recently celebrated her 80th birthday, joined Dr Louise Newton on her podcast as she promoted the importance of movement at every stage of life. Speaking to the doctor, she shared her ambitions for the future after returning to dance back in 2022 when she competed on Strictly Come Dancing.
She told listeners: “You can do it at any age. It doesn’t matter what your age is or your physical condition – dance is the superpower. My ambition is to die young – as late as possible. And that’s what dance will help you do.
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“The body is a machine and like any machine it’s full of millions of moving parts and if you don’t look after it, it will seize up and rust. You have to keep it moving.”
The dance advocate explored the impact dance has on the body both physically and mentally, as well as the social connection it offers and how it helps to prevent disease.
Discussing the driving force behind her Let’s Dance! Initiative and calls for a national reframe of movement as a critical part of our “wellbeing pension plan.” She urged: “It should be prevention always, rather than cure.
"If you can stop things before they happen then you don’t need expensive pharmaceuticals or hospital treatments. Dance is a miracle for people with Parkinsons. Music helps them control their actions, improves their gait and improves their mobility.
She added: “153,000 people in the UK are registered with Parkinsons – 50,000 of those get dance classes. I want the other 103,000 to get dance classes!”
“In a single year, on average 1.6million people over 60 will have a fall and do damage to themselves... we could save the NHS up to £4billion a year [with dance]. Think of dance as making an investment in your wellbeing pension plan.”
Rippon, whose decorated career in journalism and TV which spans across nearly 60 years, also reflected on her pioneering role as one of the UK’s first female newsreaders.
Speaking about her blossoming career in journalism back in 1975, she opened up about what it was life as a rising female presenter on the small screen.
She recalled: “It’ll be 59 years since I did my very first broadcast – to see the amount of young women who work in TV now is wonderful.
“To walk into any television studio and seeing the amount of women there are. The amount of male TV executives who have grown up not with the old boy’s network, but alongside women who are good at what they do.”
