Darcey Bussell
The country’s favourite ballerina chasséd elegantly onto our television screens and now may take over as top judge on Strictly
Has anybody made the difficult cultural journey from the sublime to the cor blimey more smoothly than Darcey Bussell? For many years she was the country’s best-known classical dancer. At the age of 20, she became the Royal Ballet’s youngest principal to date, combining an athletic physique with remarkable grace of movement.
She had been sent to a ballet class because her mother thought it would make her less clumsy and do something about her bandy legs. Bandy legs or not, Bussell had an obvious talent that was spotted by the choreographer Kenneth MacMillan while she was still at school.
Yet since retiring in 2007, she has been carving out a successful career in popular entertainment. She joined the judging panel on Strictly Come Dancing in 2012, when the singer Alesha Dixon defected to ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent. It has now been suggested she might become the programme’s head judge, with a casting vote, when Len Goodman retires after tonight’s final results show.
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After years at the top of a demanding profession, you’d think that Bussell wouldn’t have much patience with the parade of clumsy amateurs that are Strictly’s stock-in-trade. She’s a bit of a soft touch, though. “I get soft spots for everyone,” she once admitted. “Maybe I am not fierce enough.”
It has helped her passage into the world of popular entertainment that she doesn’t take herself too seriously. For Red Nose Day 2005, she danced a duet with Angelina Ballerina, a mouse that features in a series of children’s books. She also danced a duet in Dibley village hall with the Rev Geraldine Granger (played by Dawn French) for The Vicar of Dibley.
Nearly 10 years after retiring, she is still the public face of classical dance. She is president of the Royal Academy of Dance and a walking reminder that dancers make great sacrifices for their careers. She has needed two ankle operations and suffered a knee injury. In 2014, she had a hip operation at the age of just 45. Perhaps, Ed Balls, politics might be the safer option.
Life in brief
Born: 27th April 1969 in London
Education: Arts Education School, Royal Ballet School
Career: Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, 1987-2007; Danced for Queen Mother’s 90th birthday celebration, 1989; Awarded OBE, 1995; Awarded CBE, 2006; Dance Body Workout, 2007; Danced at London Olympic closing ceremony, 2012; Joined Strictly Come Dancing as judge, 2012
Personal life: Married financier Angus Forbes, 1997. They have two daughters.
Father Christmas
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Russian around delivering presents
Scientists at Exeter University say Einstein’s theory of relativity explains how Father Christmas is able to deliver presents all over the world in a single night. Yet that doesn’t explain who exactly Father Christmas is. Let’s examine the evidence. According to the festive song, he has remarkable surveillance powers: “He knows when you are sleeping / He knows when you’re awake / He knows if you’ve been bad or good.” Terrible news, everybody — it looks like Santa is Vladimir Putin.
Tosh McDonald
Pine needles on the track
He’s got long white hair and a beard, and a lot of people will be sending him letters this Christmas telling him what they want. No, not him (below left) but Tosh McDonald (below), president of Aslef, the train drivers’ union. “Dear Tosh,” they will write. “What we would really like for Christmas is a train set that actually works. You know, with some actual trains that will carry people to work and back. Yours truly, every Southern commuter.”
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Claire Foy
A majestic performance
Claire Foy has been nominated for a Golden Globe award for best actress following her performance as a young Queen Elizabeth in The Crown, the widely acclaimed Netflix production. No doubt she’s already working on her acceptance speech. “Hello,” she will say. “Have you come far?”