17 - Why dance is a superpower, with Angela Rippon
The Dr Louise Newson Podcast
Dr Louise Newson
4.8 • 798 Ratings
🗓️ 22 July 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Dr Louise Newson is joined by the inspirational Angela Rippon, whose remarkable career in television and journalism spans nearly six decades. From breaking barriers as one of the first female newsreaders on British TV to her more recent appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, Angela reflects on the evolution of her work and the deep personal passion that drives her today: getting the nation moving.
In this uplifting episode, Louise and Angela explore how dance and movement can be powerful tools for supporting long-term health and wellbeing. Angela shares the inspiration behind her Let’s Dance! initiative and explains why she believes dance is a ‘superpower’ – capable of improving physical health, mental wellbeing, and social connection at every stage of life.
From using dance in schools to helping people with Parkinson’s, Angela makes a compelling case for why dance should be seen as an investment in our ‘wellbeing pension plan’. Whether you're eight or 80, this conversation will inspire you to see dance not just as exercise, but as joy, connection, and a key to ageing well. As Angela says: ‘My ambition is to die young – as late as possible.’
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Find out more about Let’s Dance! here
We’re delighted to have been nominated in the Listeners’ Choice category for the British Podcast Awards. There’s still time to vote – click here
Email [email protected] with suggestions for new guests!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dr Louise Newson or the Newson Health Group.
LET'S CONNECT
Website: Dr Louise Newson
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YouTube: Dr Louise Newson - YouTube
CONNECT WITH ANGELA
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I really want you to help because we've found out that this podcast has been nominated for the |
| 0:04.9 | Listeners Choice Award, which is with the British Podcast Awards. We need your vote. So if you go to |
| 0:11.5 | the show notes and click on the link, and I really hope we can do this. So thank you. |
| 0:19.2 | So I'm really excited that Angela Rippen came on my podcast today. |
| 0:23.6 | As some of you know, she's the first female news reader on the BBC. |
| 0:27.7 | And more recently, she's become really well known for her stint on Strictly doing the splits. |
| 0:34.0 | But we talk a lot about preventing diseases and what dance can do for all of us. |
| 0:39.5 | So if you're not inspired to join the local dance class after this, you're never going to be. |
| 0:44.3 | So I hope you enjoy it. |
| 0:45.9 | Angela Riffin, I feel quite nervous because I have grown up watching you and been really inspired by a woman newsreading, which now in 2025, it doesn't sound very much, does it? |
| 0:59.0 | But it was so important. |
| 1:01.0 | I have to say it's quite rewarding when I meet younger women in television now, because I'm now 80, coming up to 81. |
| 1:08.3 | And this was back in the 1970s, 1976. |
| 1:11.9 | There were no women reading the national news. |
| 1:16.0 | The interesting thing is there were lots of us in the regions doing it. |
| 1:19.7 | But there wasn't, and there hadn't been a woman since a lady called Nan Winton, who was there for about six weeks. |
| 1:25.4 | But they didn't have long bulletins. |
| 1:27.2 | They just had sort of, you know, the five-minute bulletin. |
| 1:30.0 | They didn't have long news programs. |
| 1:32.5 | And she lasted about six weeks before she was taken off air because it was felt that women |
| 1:36.5 | didn't have the authority and the gravitas to be able to be news readers. |
| 1:40.9 | And that was way back in the like early 50s. |
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