DentaltownUK News

Dr. Philip Friel has completed his clinic’s first charity initiative of 2018 by helping raise £100,000 for The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow. 

Friel signed up to take part in a Strictly Come Dancing-style event held on March 10 in the Glasgow Hilton and performed a rumba in front of a sell-out, 600-strong audience.

Hospice charity bosses recruited Friel and another seven ‘non-dancer’ contestants to raise a minimum of £3,000 each. In the end, Friel’s own total almost tipped the £24,000 mark and the group amassed the £100,000 for the appeal which sees the hospice move into a new purpose-built complex on the south side of the city.

Friel, clinic director at Philip Friel Advanced Dentistry, started his rumba training with professional dancing coach Kerry Montgomery in the middle of January after recovering from a leg injury sustained in a 5-a-side football match.

He trained up to three times a week at the David Lloyd Centre in Renfrew in the run-up to the event.

Friel admitted to being ‘just a tad nervous—but with good nerves’ when he hit the dance floor but added, ‘Who doesn’t have a friend or family member who at some point has been cared for or supported by the hospice team?

‘Such a worthwhile cause made it easier for me to decide to potentially subject myself to much taunting and ridicule from friends and family when I turned out to perform. As I stepped out under the glitter ball, I just focused on all those who’d donated and supported.

‘This was very much a case of stepping outside my comfort zone, but Kerry was a great teacher and her focus and enthusiasm made sure I trained as hard as I can. I found myself practising a few of the more complex steps between clinic appointments. The response from patients, friend, family and clinic associates was incredible and I’m so grateful for the support. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and learning to ballroom dance is another ticked off the bucket list!’

The event was hosted by Carol Smillie and David Farrell. Strictly show stars Oti Mabuse and Giovanni Pernice were special guests and judges who also performed a series of show dances for the audience.

One of Friel’s dental hygienist colleagues, Clare French, won the prize draw for a dance with Pernice— an experience she described as ‘super fun’.

Friel and Montgomery impressed the judges enough to get through to the dance-off, but in the end were pipped by Jean Bonner and Federico Ribeiro, whose samba performance lifted the glitterball trophy.