Dancing Broughton couple have a spring in their step after championship glory

A couple from Broughton who first waltzed when they were on a cruise holiday have added two more dance titles to their impressive repertoire.

Roger Griss and his wife and dance partner Annette won the British Senior (over 35s) Classical Sequence Championship title and the Vice Championship title in the modern sequence section at the Blackpool Dance Festival.

It's another trophy for their collection, having won the international Irish title among others during their ten years of competing.

The pair met at a Bovis Homes dinner dance, when both worked for the housebuilder, and only began dancing when they joined a waltz on holiday.

Roger, a project manager at Vistry Group, said: “Before we met, dancing hadn’t crossed my mind.

“While we were on a cruise holiday, we saw a few people waltzing and we thought it would be nice to join in.

“As well as competing, we do enjoy dancing for fun and attending social dances locally.

"It definitely keeps you fit and my posture is much better - since I took up dance, I no longer have any back problems.”

The pair returned to Blackpool's Winter Gardens for their latest competition and decisively won the Classical Sequence Championship.

Anyone over 35 could entered and the pair were kept on their toes by couples in their 40s and 50s - but Roger proved age is just a number.

He said: "At 62, I was chuffed to beat them.

“We love dancing, and we’ll hopefully return to defend our title again next year.”

He added that he hopes to share his passion with future generations once he retires from competitive dancing.