Arnold Clark team wins charity's Strictly Come Dancing-inspired event

9th October 2023 12:00

"It's an honour to be crowned champions, but at the end of the day, the charity is the real winner and we're so happy to be able to support the amazing work Beatson Cancer Charity does."

Team Arnold Clark, Strictly Beatson Champions 2023

The teams taking part were Team Go Radio, Team Marks & Spencer, Team Arnold Clark, Team Silverbirch and Team Fuelfit.

The teams taking part were Team Go Radio, Team Marks & Spencer, Team Arnold Clark, Team Silverbirch and Team Fuelfit.

9th October 2023


"It's an honour to be crowned champions, but at the end of the day, the charity is the real winner and we're so happy to be able to support the amazing work Beatson Cancer Charity does."

Team Arnold Clark, Strictly Beatson Champions 2023

A team of Arnold Clark employees lifted the winning trophy on Saturday night at our second 'Strictly Beatson' event.

It was held in the DoubleTree Hilton Glasgow Central and was hosted by TV and radio presenter, Bryan Burnett, where nearly 600 guests came to support the five teams battling to win Strictly Beatson, all in aid of our charity.

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The teams taking part were Team Go Radio, Team Marks & Spencer, Team Arnold Clark, Team Silverbirch and Team Fuelfit. 

The theme of the event was ‘Movie Night’, which coincided with Strictly Come Dancing’s Movie Night on Saturday. 

£73,408 was raised by guests at the event and by all the teams, who fundraised for our charity alongside their dance rehearsals. 

Strictly Beatson Photography

Team Go Radio were first to perform with their professionals, Warren and Dianne Brown. Breakfast show presenters Croft and Grado were part of the team, alongside news intern Emma MacGregor, DJ Stevie Lennon, Senior Business Account Manager Lesley Ann Webb and PA and Building Coordinator Karen Woodrow. Their chosen movie was Moulin Rouge. 

PICTURED: Team Go Radio

Team Arnold Clark was made up of employees from their head office, including Senior Recruitment Administrator Ciara Cannon, Software Engineer Ed Fallon, Head of Affiliate & Product Marketing Jennifer Fionda, Digital Employee Experience Project Lead Jon Cuthbertson, People Advisor Rebecca Bailey and Recruitment Operations Manager William Forrest. Their dance professionals were Donna Littlejohn and Marcus Littlejohn and they danced to songs from the movie Top Gun.  

PICTURED: Team Arnold Clark

Team Marks and Spencer consisted of colleagues from four stores across Glasgow. The team was made up of six team managers: Christopher Gilmore, Clare Williams and Sarah Young from Silverburn store, Adam McMinn from Braehead, Gillian Gilmour from Newton Mearns store and Amy Straiton from Argyle Street. Pamela Logan and Ian Peebles were the team’s professional dancers. The team’s movie was Grease.  

PICTURED: Team M&S

Team FuelFit was made up of Ryan Leslie and Genna Masterton from Fuelfit meal prep, Kate and Cameron Wilson from PhysioFlexx Ayrshire and Liam and Kirstin Walker from Eevo Training in Ayr. Their professional dancers were Craig Murdoch and Cheryl Wright. The team danced to songs from the movie The Mask. 

PICTURED: Team Fuelfit

Team Silverbirch had team members Halliana Walker, David Corner, Erin Ruddy, Elise Jackson, Aiden Woodbridge and Darren Moran. Their professional dancers were Tracy Donald and Graham Fox. The team danced to songs from the movie Elvis. 

PICTURED: Team Silverbirch

The judging panel was made up of four judges: head judge James Wilson, who has previously been an assistant choreographer for Strictly Come Dancing and a dancer on Dancing with the Stars Turkey; TV personality and former British Champion Highland Dancer Phil MacHugh, radio presenter and five-time World Champion dancer Roisin McCourt and 14-time Icelandic and five-time Nordic dance champion Gylfi Hrafnsson. 

PICTURED: The Judges (L-R): James Wilson, Gylfi Hrafnsson, Roisin McCourt and Phil MacHugh

Guests were also treated to performances from last year’s winners, made up of employees from The Malcolm Group. Irish dance group, Celtic Feet Company, also performed on the night. 

The judges picked Team Arnold Clark and Team Fuelfit as the final two teams to go head-to-head in the dance off to become the champions. The judges then chose Team Arnold Clark as their winners. 

Team Arnold Clark managed to raise over £21,000 for Beatson Cancer Charity during their time rehearsing for the event. 

Following their win, Team Arnold Clark said: "We're all absolutely delighted to win, we're still on cloud nine.  

"Training with the team over the last 20 weeks has been brilliant and we've loved every minute of it. We really appreciate the support and donations we've received - we're extremely grateful.  

"It's an honour to be crowned champions, but at the end of the day, the charity is the real winner and we're so happy to be able to support the amazing work Beatson Cancer Charity does.  

"Well done to everyone who took part and a big thank you to everyone who helped make it a such a memorable evening!" 

James Wilson, choreographer and dancer, said: “What a magical evening full of such wonderful talent and great teamwork.  

“I really enjoyed watching every performance and for such a worthy cause.” 

Susan Brodie, events manager at Beatson Cancer Charity, said: “We are so grateful to all five teams and their professional dancers for the immense amount of hard work and training they put into their performances in their own free time. 

“They all worked so hard on their dance while also fundraising for our charity. 

“The event was a huge success and raised an incredible amount of money which will go towards supporting so many patients and their families.”