Anton’s message is ballroom dream for Irene

Anton Du Beke at the TV Choice Awards 2018 at the Dorchester Hotel, London. Picture: Steve Vas/Featureflash

A Trinity Hospice patient got an extra special surprise as staff arranged a personal message from ballroom dance sensation Anton du Beke.

Irene Cooney told staff at the hospice’s Day Therapy Unit that she was a huge fan of Anton, and just loved ballroom dancing. So they quickly got to work to see if they could arrange for something special from him.

Irene, 91, said she was a really keen ballroom dancer when she was young, and her mother always knew she’d find her in the ballroom – it was her second home. She told staff at the hospice she thought Anton was a ‘gentleman dancer’ and had always liked him. The staff got in touch with Anton’s agent at ‘IWILLKNOWSOMEONE’, they organised for the dance megastar to record a video message just for Irene, and sent it across to the hospice.

Irene, who lives in South Shore, Blackpool, was shown the video when she returned to the Day Therapy Unit after the Christmas break.

She said ‘When I first saw the message I just could not believe it was him. I had to watch it again! The staff said they had a nice message for me, but I never thought it would be something like this. How lovely of Anton to do it and how kind of everyone at Trinity – I really have never experienced such kindness until coming here. It has made such a difference to me.’

The Day Therapy Unit offers people who have a non-curative illness or condition a free 16-week course to access information on symptom control, benefits and counselling, as well as relaxation, physiotherapy and complimentary therapies. Patients are encouraged to make a ‘bucket list’ of things they would like to achieve while they are still able to. As part of her bucket list discussions Irene mentioned to staff about her love of ballroom dance, and, in particular, Anton.

Irene Cooney at Trinity Hospice’s Day Therapy Unit, where staff organised for a personal message from Anton du Beke.

Staff Nurse Vicky Rashid said ‘When we saw how Irene’s eyes lit up as she talked about ballroom dancing and Anton du Beke we knew we would have to try and get something special for her. We spoke to our colleagues in the communication team, and they managed to get a video message sent over.  It was absolutely amazing, and so kind of him to do it for her. It was just lovely to see Irene’s face as she watched the message – we watched it a few times and she was over the moon with it. We’re so grateful to Anton and his team for taking the time to do this for her.”

To see Irene’s video from Anton and her reaction, visit https://tinyurl.com/antonirene or search for ‘trinityhospice’ on youtube