A THELWALL artist was crowned champion of an annual charity Strictly competition.
Lorna Bent danced the Samba to Jason Derulo’s ‘Tip Toe’ in the Claire House fundraiser before lifting the glitterball trophy.
Lorna, along with six other amateur dancers who trained and fundraised to take part, should have danced in 2020, but the annual event was postponed twice because of Covid.
Talking about why she chose to take part in the competition, Lorna said: “It was something that I always wanted to do and I saw Claire House did it.
“Although there are a few charities that do it, Claire House really resonated with me.
“It is such a beautiful charity and they do so much work for the children and families and I just thought that it would be great to do it for them.”
Lorna, who danced with Chris Milward from Cadmans Dance Centre, managed to raise around £2,000.
The night itself raised an impressive £37,000.
“After first signing up in 2020, it was great to finally take to the dancefloor," Lorna said.
"I loved learning to dance the Samba with Chris and performing on the night in front of everyone was just a dream.
“Thank you for such a great opportunity, raising money for a wonderful charity and meeting lovely friends along the way.”
Claire House does Strictly began in 2015 and has raised around £210,000 for the charity over the last seven years.
Event fundraiser Rachel Handley said: “The money that we raise at events like this is vital in keeping the doors to Claire House open, so it is amazing to finally be back after a two-year wait.
“Every amateur dancer trained so hard and was so incredible on the night – we just want to say thank you to all of the dancers and Cadmans Dance Centre, and to everyone who attended too.
“It was a great evening, hosted by Claire Simmo, and we even had Ray Quinn attend to sing and judge our dancers too.
“The judges and audience loved Lorna’s Samba and she was a worthy winner of Claire House does Strictly.”
The event was sponsored by HSBC.
You can find Lorna's artwork on Instagram at: @Lorna_Bent_Art
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