'Strictly Come Dancing' star Angela Rippon has asked her pro partner Kai Widdrington to "challenge" her.
Strictly's Angela Rippon wants Kai Widdrington to 'challenge' her
The former 'Come Dancing' host is the oldest-ever Strictly contestant aged 78, and while she is well aware she won't be "as fit or strong" as some of her fellow contestants on the BBC One Latin and ballroom show, she is determined to "do everything properly".
She told the Radio Times magazine: "I look at the younger people and I know I’m not as fit or strong - that’s just a medical fact.
"But I play tennis, I go to pilates and ballet classes, so I’m pretty fit for someone of my age.
"I’ve told my pro partner, Kai, there are things I can do, and things I can’t.
"I just want to do everything properly. I’ve told him, 'Challenge me.' "
Angela impressed during her 'Strictly' debut on Saturday (23.09.23), scoring 28 points out of a possible 40 from the judges, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke.
And she is a "very happy bunny" to be partnered up with Kai.
She added: "I told the producers, 'I need someone strong, patient and with a sense of humour.'
"He’s got all those qualities, and he’s a brilliant dancer and choreographer. He and his partner, Nadiya Bychkova, are both fabulous."
Ahead of her debut dance, Angela admitted she had found rehearsals "frustrating" at times.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “I know what I should be doing, I know how it should be feeling, it’s actually making my legs do it to the music. I’m just getting cross and frustrated.
"I’m exhausted. There are bits of me aching that I didn’t know I had.
"I’m enjoying doing it and I’m fine with the bits that I get right. But I get very angry with myself when I absolutely muck it up and do it wrong."
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