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| Ex-EastEnder is Strictly Come Dancing champ |
| Written by Administrator | |
| Thursday, 23 December 2004 | |
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Former EastEnders star Jill Halfpenny was today celebrating her scintillating victory in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing Champion of Champions.
The Geordie actress and her dancing partner Darren Bennett took the title after strutting their stuff in a special show that pitted six couples against each other. Halfpenny, 29, won the second series of the BBC ballroom dancing show earlier this month and has since landed the lead role of Roxie in the West End musical Chicago. Beaming after the show’s host Bruce Forsyth announced the winner last night, the actress said: “I want to say thank you to everybody that voted for us. Thanks!” Bennett added: “Today was a great show. We all worked really hard and all really enjoyed it.” Speaking about the other contestants he said: “We all get on so fantastically well. This is the last night we’re going to dance together. Let’s party!” Halfpenny, who was axed from her role as Kate Mitchell in EastEnders earlier this year, was favourite to take the title and jived with Bennett to Rocking around the Christmas Tree. Strictly Come Dancing has transformed her fortunes, and she will start a three-month run in Chicago at London’s Adelphi Theatre from January. She follows in the footsteps of Denise Van Outen, Claire Sweeney and Jennifer Ellison, who have all played murderess Roxie. In second place after the judging panel and viewers had cast their votes was Olympic gold medalist Denise Lewis, who had an ankle injury and the flu, and her professional dance partner Ian Waite. But presenter Natasha Kaplinsky, who won the first series of the dancing show with her partner Brendan Cole, was unplaced with three other celebrities. They were opera singer Lesley Garrett, rugby star Martin Offiah and singer-turned-presenter Aled Jones. Source |
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