Bury Hospice launch Strictly Best Foot Forward 2023

Bury Hospice has officially launched its annual Strictly-style contest which will see couples go head to head on the dance floor.

The launch of this year’s Strictly Best Foot Forward was held at Swinton Masonic Hall on Sunday, May 14th.

Strictly Best Foot Forward is the biggest event in Bury Hospice’s fundraising calendar and raised over £42,000 in 2022. The event is led by Bury Hospice trustee and fundraising volunteer, Deborah Lisle. Each year the glamorous competition helps to raise thousands of pounds to provide end-of-life care for patients and to support their families. Each participant has committed to raising £500 for Bury Hospice.

We are delighted to announce this year’s contestants are Lesley Woods, Clare Lomax, Julie Cunningham, John Cunningham, Rowan Pollard, Dionne Burwin-Roycroft, Louis Bancroft, Beverley Parker, Elizabeth Livingstone, Paul Condon, Alison Chapman, Lisa Bilardi, Kirsty Jay Allen, Catherine Allott, Mark Gregory, Luis James McBriar, Artjoms Markovins and Matthew Aspden.

Friends Lesley Woods and Clare Lomax will be dancing in this year’s competition. To support their fundraising efforts, they are organising a Ladies Fashion Show and Pop-up Shop by Colours Fundraising Fashion Shows. The event will take place at Elton Liberal Club on Friday, June 30th at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £5. There will also be a raffle with fabulous prizes to be won. To book tickets, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The dance couples, many of whom have never danced before, will undergo an intensive training regime at LARK Dance, Drama & Gymnastics, who donate their studio for the rehearsals and dance teachers who give their time for free. After nine weeks of rehearsals the dancers will perform in front of a panel of judges at the grand finale on Saturday, November 11th.

Bury Hospice is fortunate to have such amazing support from the people of Bury. It is touching to see how much effort people are prepared to put in to raise money or how much time they give up to make a difference.

It costs £4 million to run Bury Hospice with a 13% contribution from the NHS. The remainder is generated from our income generation teams including fundraising, retail and lottery and support from local businesses and the community.

We are sure this year’s contestants will totally embrace the experience of learning a new dance. They are a truly inspirational group with a great sense of fun, determination and enthusiasm. They all have special reasons for taking part – please support them as they put their best foot forward to fundraise for Bury Hospice.

If you would like to support Bury Hospice and our Strictly 2023 dancers, you can donate on their JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/burystrictly2023