The recent annual Strictly St Rocco’s event at Haydock Park Racecourse marked the 10th anniversary of the glitzy dance contest and the seven brave supporters certainly helped to make it a night to remember.
In the run-up to the event, amateur dancers were paired with a professional dancer from Cadmans Dance Centre, Sale and had a series of lessons to learn their routine.
Charlotte Smith, a self-employed Marketing Consultant, was crowned the winner and took home the coveted glitter ball trophy after receiving a perfect score from guest judges and the most public votes on the night. Elsa Ward, Owner of Palmyra Cocktail Bar, received the runner-up award with Ann Evans, a volunteer at St. Rocco’s, winning the top fundraiser award after raising over £5,000 through various events and activities this year.
Also dancing the night away were contestants Paul Williams (Healthcare Assistant at St. Rocco’s), Mitchell Maloney (Leisure Membership Advisor at The Village Hotel), Sarah McLoughlin (Head of Academy at the TUCO Foundation), and Paul Collier (Sales Manager at B-Engineering).
Charlotte (Senior Events Manager, St. Rocco’s Hospice) said, ‘I am incredibly proud that Strictly St. Rocco’s has reached its 10-year anniversary. It is our biggest event of the year, and we love seeing how committed our dancers are and the progress they make during their lessons. This year we have raised over £52,000 which is incredible. This money will help fund patient care at our hospice and will help us continue to look after those in the Warrington community facing a life-limiting diagnosis. We would like to thank every single person who has made this event a success.’
The event was live streamed on social media with supporters cheering on the dancers from living rooms across Warrington. There was also the option to text to vote this year which was a huge success.
St. Rocco’s would like to thank everyone involved in helping to make the event a success including drinks sponsor Greenall’s; Cadmans Dance Centre for training and supporting the amateur dancers and corporate table sponsors LMS and Palmyra Cocktail Bar. Thanks also to guest judges Laura Appleton, Elle Preston and Simon Riley, to hosts Ian Lawson and Hayley Jones, guest speaker Russ Scanlon, Saxophonist Tina Wells for her performance and DJ Nigel Vaughan. Also supporting the event were volunteer photographers Brian Touhey and Moore Camera Club, The Make Up Coach Rayner and Sean Preston Hair for the dancers’ makeovers and to Personalised Awards for the dancer medals and trophies. Thank you to Mike and the team at MJD Events for AV support and Living Colour and Huddle Hospitality for table centres and to our volunteers including the team from RBS Bank. Without all your support, we could not run an event like this. We would also like to thank everyone who donated prizes to the raffle and auction and, of course, to our seven contestants who have worked incredibly hard and show exceptional support and commitment to St. Rocco’s.
Over the last decade, Strictly St. Rocco’s has raised £700,000 towards patient care at the hospice. This money has had a huge impact on the care and services delivered to people with a terminal diagnosis across Warrington. During this time, St. Rocco’s has cared for over 2,000 patients on their inpatient ward, answered tens of thousands of calls to our palliative care hub and delivered many other appointments, drop-in sessions, and counselling services. This specialist care would not be possible without the generosity of the Warrington community and the dedication of those that support us.
If you would like to get involved in Strictly St. Rocco’s 2025, please contact Charlotte on 01925 57578 or email [email protected].
You can find out more about St. Rocco’s and the services available here: St Roccos Hospice | End of Life Care
