Dedicated dancer Dinkie Flowers is still blooming at 99 and has pledged herself to workout to six days a week to raise money for the NHS.
The grandmother-of-four and dance teacher had to wind down her classes due to the pandemic but turned her energies to another challenge.
She will do three 45-minute keep fit sessions and three 20-minute walks a week for the NHS Charities Together until her 100th birthday on May 7.
These incredible efforts are just some of the highlights in the life of Dinkie, of Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, who has been dancing since aged three.
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She made her TV debut at 98, tap dancing her way into the nation and the judges’ hearts on BBC’s The Greatest Dancer.
She has showcased her talents all over the world.
Dinkie said: “Everybody says to me – what would you like to do if you could start all over again?
"I’ve always said this is what I’d do, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Her friend Lesley said: “There can’t be many people who are 100 and can do what she does.
“She’s on the floor running on the spot it’s incredible.
"Her posture is amazing. She’s also had an amazing life.”
As a child she appeared in three shows directed by star of screen and stage Gracie Fields and honed her skills at London’s Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
She fell in love with ice skating and performed for Philip at an Ice Gala in 1952, for which she received a royal letter of thanks.
Dinkie went to Iraq and tutored its royal family in skating.
Lesley said: “Dinkie taught the prince and was there for a few months.
When it was time to go - some sheikh who bought the rink thought she came with it.”
Dinkie said: “I am never happier than when I’m dancing.
"And I won’t stop until they carry me out in a box.”
Her husband George, who died in 2005, managed London’s Raymond Revuebar.
The couple had a daughter.
- Give to Dinkie’s cause at Lesley's JustGiving page
