A SELL-OUT dance event with celebrity guests has hit a fundraising high with £50,800 for Essex Air Ambulance.
The spin-off ‘Strictly Air Ambulance’, held at Charter Hall, Colchester, featured TV dancers Giovanni Pernice and Joanne Clifton, who wowed an 800-strong audience.
The VIP guests also judged five competing couples, paired up with professionals, along with charity trust chief executive Jane Gurney, Phil Meacham, of Chelmsford Dance Centre and show choreographer Ben Milan-Vega.
Heart Breakfast presenter Su Harrison hosted the evening.
Strictly winners Jane Tierney, 50, from Colchester and partner Sam Jeffery, from Steps Ahead Dance School, in Romford, impressed judges with a Rumba and Viennese Waltz.
The duo raised the glitter ball at the end of the night and the mother-of-three said winning was the icing on the cake.
She said: “It was an experience which will stay close within my heart for many years to come.”
Pam Corrie, an Essex Air Ambulance volunteer from Chelmsford and partner John West, from Brentwood, scooped second prize, while Phil Almond, an Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust critical care paramedic, with partner Zoe Jeffery, gained third.
Mrs Gurney thanked dancers Giovanni and Joanne for “setting the stage alight” and the contestants for their fundraising efforts.
She added: “Hats off to all our brave contestants who worked so hard to create a spectacular show.
“Finally, a big thank you to our sponsors Countryside, GCS Alarms Ltd and Jamesons who made this event possible and to everyone who bought tickets for this glittering occasion.”
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