Strictly Come Dancing star Ann Widdecombe takes the lead

Christmas spirit: Ann Widdecombe
11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Strictly Come Dancing star Ann Widdecombe has finally been given the chance to take the lead.

The former MP - who is whisked around the dance floor by partner Anton du Beke on the hit BBC1 TV show - led out two donkeys to promote the charity Safe Haven For Donkeys in the Holy Land (SHADH).

Miss Widdecombe, a former Home Office minister who quit the House of Commons at the last election, was taking a break from training to promote her favourite charity.

The 63-year-old has regularly been seen in the small town of Newton Abbot in Devon, but today it witnessed the bizarre sight of her - complete with Christmas hat - walking two donkeys down the small side street outside the dance studios where she trains.

Miss Widdecombe travelled to Israel to help the charity in 2004 but in a strange twist of fate the charity's 10th anniversary dinner falls on the same night as the Strictly final - and she's hoping to miss the celebration.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I hope very much to be in the Strictly Come Dancing Final," she said.

"I've no idea whether we can win, I have no idea whether we can even get to the final - there are still three eliminations before we get to the final - we could go out any time, but I've had great fun."

Miss Widdecombe praised her dance partner, Anton Du Beke, for devising their dance routines, which has seen the former MP mimic scenes from Oscar winning film Titanic, fly on wires and be dragged around the dancefloor by Du Beke.

"He has created TV gold, he really has, he's been fantastic, I don't don't know where it comes from, he's got a very very fertile comic imagination," she said.

She said that if she did not get to the final, her money was on Countryfile presenter Matt Baker to win.

Despite Strictly Judge Craig Revel Horwood giving the star the lowest mark possible in two successive weeks, she said off camera he was "fine".

However, she admitted: "He puts on quite an act on stage, which fair enough, that's what he there for."

She seemed at ease today with Teasel and Dove as she launched the Christmas campaign for SHADH, which rescues injured, neglected and abused donkeys in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"I've supported Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land for many years as the work they do is amazing," she said.

"I've spent time at the donkey sanctuary in Israel myself and know that too many donkeys in the region are treated cruelly or abandoned."

This year, SHADH is asking schools to donate the proceeds from their nativity plays as part of their fund-raising or for families to adopt a donkey as a way to celebrate Christmas.

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