A Strictly Extravaganza Gala Dinner held at the Hilton in Bournemouth has raised £25,000 for Forest Holme Hospice in Poole.

The event, which was organised by Lewis Scott Academy of Arts in memory of Lisa Hopton, who was cared for at the hospice, followed a similar format to BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, with amateur dancers performing alongside a professional dancer.
The evening saw 10 contestants, each of whom had either little or no previous dancing experience, perform in front of four judges and a sold-out crowd featuring friends, family and charity supporters.

Each contestant had a connection with the hospice itself either through the care a loved-one had received there or, in the case of Lynn Makeham and Karen Johnson, work at Forest Holme as a nurse and trustee respectively.
The show opened with the group Charleston dance performed by the palliative care team based at Forest Holme and culminated with Jason Edwards scooping the glitterball trophy for his beautifully-moving Waltz to the theme from Schindler’s List alongside his professional partner Madison Ingoldsby, pictured.
Forest Holme Hospice Charity was set-up to ensure that everyone in the local community affected by a life-limiting illness or bereavement gets the care and support they need, either at home or in their dedicated hospice facility.