THIS YEAR’S AYRSHIRE DOES STRICTLY WINNER TALKS TO AM
Gill Sherry
When radio presenter, Ali Wright, was invited to attend Ayrshire Does Strictly in 2023, little did she know she would be competing in the competition a year later.
“I loved it!” she recalls. “I was like… this is amazing; I’d love to do something like this!”
She admits to being slightly under the influence at the time of this declaration but, a couple of months later, when she received a phone call asking if she’d like to take part, she jumped at the chance.
“I’d never danced professionally,” she tells me, although she did study performing arts when she was 18.
“It was always just amateur theatre shows and stuff, never Latin or ballroom or anything like that. Trying to get dance shoes back on was hilarious!”
Having committed to the challenge, Ali threw herself wholeheartedly into training with her partner, Frederico Ribeiro.
“Frederico and I rehearsed every Sunday for two hours. Frederico was quite a hard task master… if he can get more out of you, he will. He kept making me do it again and again. Until you start doing something like that, you don’t realise how bad your posture is. It’s hard learning a new skill when you’re in your thirties!”
Despite the hard work involved, Ali admits to really enjoying the rehearsals.
“Don’t get me wrong, I moaned about it every Sunday! But afterwards I felt really refreshed and invigorated and now I miss it, I miss it dreadfully.”
Along with the rest of the contestants, Ali and Frederico performed one dance on the night itself. They danced a Tango to a remixed version of the Annie Lennox song ‘Here Comes The Rain Again’ which earned them maximum points from the judges and, ultimately, the Ayrshire Does Strictly crown.
“It was completely unexpected,” Ali says when I ask what it felt like to win. “Everybody had had their costumes for weeks, if not months, and everybody had rehearsed in their dance shoes. I got my dance shoes the day before, I hadn’t even tried them on! In the end, I wore a pair of old scabby ones that I’d had for 20 years. My tights ripped right before I went on… and my skirt fell down.”
She goes on to clarify that it didn’t actually fall to her feet, but it slipped down enough to reveal a glimpse of flesh beneath her leotard.
“I was a riot!” she laughs, “I have no idea how I won! But it was just great. I did not expect it at all. And I felt quite under-rehearsed because Frederico hurt his back two weeks before we danced. To win was just outstanding.”
She’s still bubbling with excitement as she talks about the event and admits that winning the competition is one of her greatest achievements, particularly as her confidence was at an all-time low.
“We lost the Breakfast Show in August,” she says, referring to the withdrawal of Ali and Michael in the Morning from West FM, the show she co-presented with Michael Smith. “It’s been a really weird time, and even though it was no fault of our own, it’s a big knock to your confidence. But then doing it, and hearing the support in the room, with people shouting for you to win, it was amazing.”
Michael Smith was among Ali’s supporters on the night along with her family, closest friends and her partner.
“I loved the support of everybody that was there,” she says, acknowledging that she couldn’t have done it without them. “Also, the Park Hotel was stunning.”
She goes on to mention her fellow dancers and the friends she has made from her Strictly experience.
“It was nice getting to know everybody that danced and getting to know their stories. They were a great group of people to hang about with. And I feel I’ve made such a good friend in Frederico. I absolutely love him. I’ve made a friend for life.”
As the winner of Ayrshire Does Strictly 2024, Ali will be invited to open next year’s event. Does that mean she’ll carry on dancing?
“I really miss it,” she admits. “Frederico and his partner, Nuno, have a dance school called Dance4Passion. I keep thinking I really want to go along. I would love to do a Waltz class, a Tango or a Salsa class.”
It’s fair to say she’s caught the dancing bug. But Ayrshire Does Strictly isn’t just about the dancing, it’s also very much about fundraising. This year, the event raised more money than ever before for The Killie Community, Kilmarnock Football Club’s charity.
“It’s just incredible!” Ali declares.
Indeed it is. Ayrshire Does Strictly has established itself as one of the most anticipated events of the year, from both an entertainment and a community point of view. Ayrshire Magazine congratulates not just Ali for winning the competition but to everyone involved on another hugely successful event.
