UNBELIEVABLE: Strictly legend Angela Rippon, 80, Gives Incredible Health Update

In 2023, Angela Rippon left BBC Strictly Come Dancing viewers gobsmacked with her spectacular high kick on the dance floor, during a routine with Kai Widdrington. Aged 78 at the time, the move wasn’t expected from the show’s eldest ever participant, and it certainly remains as one of the programme’s most memorable moments.

Speaking about her health and wellbeing in an exclusive chat, the broadcaster revealed how she maintains such remarkable flexibility at her age and stays in good health.

Supporting Age UK’s Act Now, Age Better initiative, Angela, 80, says the importance of staying fit and healthy was instilled in her from a young age, and she believes this has aided her to commit to a wholesome lifestyle.

Providing an update after falling ill during the Strictly tour last year, the former newsreader insisted she was feeling as fit as she did in her younger years, and has no intention of stepping back from work.

Instead, she continues to have a hectic diary and harbours ambitious plans to keep working for at least another year, to celebrate her 60th broadcasting milestone next September.

To remain energetic, Angela says she’s devoted to completing a minimum of 10 minutes of exercises daily, plus regular dancing and tennis sessions.

“Even in a small hotel room [when working away] I do a few stretching exercises which will set me up for the day,” she revealed.

“When I’m at home, I’ll do 15 to 20 minutes of exercise and I try and walk at least once, if not twice a week, depending on my work schedule.

“I’ve been ill, and I don’t like being ill, I don’t like it at all, I like being fit, I like being able to do all the things that I do and the only way to do that is like Eileen Fowler [an exercise instructor] said, ‘You’ve got to keep the machine working’ and that’s what I do.

Angela Rippon has kept up with dancing since appearing on the show (Image: PA)

“It’s not a chore for me, it’s something I enjoy doing.”

Angela also maintains a healthy diet, enjoying foods like chicken, fish, and vegetables, while mostly staying clear of processed options.

The presenter is additionally conscious about maintaining her brain health, after witnessing her late mother’s battle with dementia.

By doing this, she highlights the significance of dancing, maintaining a nutritious diet, listening to music and keeping the mind active through activities such as puzzles.

Adhering to health guidance on brain-boosting strategies and maintaining physical fitness offers Angela hope for an even longer life, having recently claimed she had an “ambition to die young – as late as possible”.

Angela Rippon has no plans to retire (Image: GETTY)

Explaining her remarks, she said: “It’s not original to me, I heard someone else say it, and thought, ‘What a brilliant [saying]’. But again, like the campaign Age UK is running, it’s something that I can empathise with very easily.

“I’m 81 in a few weeks and I can still do things lot of people my age can’t. I did the advert for Smart Meters and you’ll be amazed by how many people say to me, ‘Is that really you putting your leg up on the table?’

“I say, it’s not AI, it’s AR, it’s me, I can do the splits, I can still do those things. I probably don’t do them quite as well as I did when I was 20, 30 or 40 but I can still do them, and I like that.”

Age UK’s Act Now, Age Better campaign, which launched earlier this year, urges people to take charge and age as well as possible – beginning with keeping physically active.

Supported by evidence, Angela declares that “dance really is the one exercise that really does work on your mind and your body”.

She elaborates: “Because when you dance, if you think about it, you use every part of your body.

“What it is doing is stimulating your brain, we all react to music and the music is like an engine, it drives our feet, it drives our body, and if you’re listening to a great piece of music, you can’t avoid tapping your toes or moving your fingers or shoulders, your body just reacts to music.

“Whatever you do to get fit, you should think of it in terms of making an investment into your wellbeing pension plan. Find something that stimulates you that you really enjoy.”