![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1511795958-e1693992499339.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Angela Rippon may be the oldest Strictly Come Dancing contestant, but she\u2019s as fit as ever.<\/p>\n
The 78-year-old is hitting the ballroom alongside the likes of EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier, Family Fortunes star Les Dennis and Love Island\u2019s Zara McDermott.<\/p>\n
\u2018Having been a fan of Strictly since day one, and as a former presenter of Come Dancing, this will be quite an adventure for me,\u2019 she said when announced as part of the line-up.<\/p>\n
\u2018A scary one, considering I\u2019m about to be 79.\u00a0But I\u2019m really looking forward to the challenge, and perhaps being able to learn to dance the Argentinian Tango!\u2019<\/p>\n
And it looks like she\u2019s already impressed head judge Shirley Ballas, who previously told Metro.co.uk: \u2018She can do the splits, you know?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018If her dancing is as elegant as the way she stands and talks, then we\u2019re in for a real treat,\u2019 she added.<\/p>\n
Now, Angela has spilt the tea on just how she stays so fit.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/metro-parent\/img\/fallback.png\")
<\/p>\n
Chatting to Metro.co.uk, when asked how she\u2019s still so flexible, the TV presenter simple said: \u2018Because I\u2019ve kept fit all my life.\u2019<\/p>\n
She went on: \u2018For the job that I do, you need to be fit because you never know what you\u2019re going to be asked to do next.<\/p>\n
\u2018And a lot of the things that I\u2019ve done in television have been very physical.<\/p>\n
\u2018Nobody thought twice about asking me to go diving with great white sharks or swim with killer whales in the Arctic Circle or abseil down Table Mountain.<\/p>\n
\u2018You never know what you\u2019re going to be asked to do.\u2019<\/p>\n
As if that wasn\u2019t enough to show off how fit she is, Angela added that she\u2019s been in instances where she\u2019s had to be on her feet for 12 hours.<\/p>\n
\u2018You can\u2019t do that unless you\u2019re fit!\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To keep her fitness levels so high, Angela added that she plays tennis regularly too.<\/p>\n
Speaking about Strictly, she insisted: \u2018It\u2019s a challenge, but it\u2019s one I\u2019ve decided I\u2019m going to enjoy.\u2019<\/p>\n
Angela\u2019s career spans over 50 years, having presented a wide variety of programmes from hard news and current affairs, to quiz shows and magazine programmes for broadcasters across the world.<\/p>\n
She currently presents BBC\u2019s Rip-Off Britain and is a regular on Morning Live and The One Show, she presented the original Come Dancing between 1988 \u2013 1991 and has fronted shows such as Top Gear,\u00a0Antiques Roadshow, The Holiday Programme, Crufts, How to Stay Young and The Truth About Dementia to name a few.<\/p>\n
In 2004 she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to Broadcasting, Charity and the Arts, then in the 2017 New Year Honours Angela was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to dementia care.<\/p>\n