This year’s beginners are now in training for the event at The Royal Court Hotel this December and they are also in full fundraising mode to help raise much-needed funds for Zoe’s Place.
Neil’s wife, Louise, took part last year and raised an incredible £4,004 – contributing to an overall total of £866,000 that has been raised by the event since its inception in 2017.
Neil has been partnered with Sarah Smith – also known as the Strictly Christmas Queen – and is being put through his paces at twice weekly practices.
He’s also making good progress on the fundraising front too, having amassed more than £3,000 which included a ‘dartsathon’ challenge where he was sponsored to accumulate 100,001 points in a day.
Neil is determined to exceed the amount raised by Louise and has been given a Coventry City FC shirt signed by the squad by Sky Blues centre back Liam Kitching. He will use a ‘black-out’ style game to give people the chance to win the shirt for a small donation.
Neil said: “Training is going well. It’s tough, but Sarah is a great teacher and I’m picking it up as each week goes by.
“I was really inspired by Louise doing Strictly Christmas last year, but the sentiment stopped there – now I want to go past her fundraising total, even if it’s just by £1! My competitive edge has really kicked in.
“And while it’s a bit of fun, I’m trying to do anything I can to bring in money because I know what a great cause Zoe’s Place is and the incredible work they do.
“I am a Coventry City season ticket holder – I go home and away – and I ended up speaking to Liam Kitching about my challenge. Straight away, he said he’d sort me out with a shirt signed by all the lads and met me pre-match to hand it over, which was so nice of him.
“Now I’m giving people the chance to win it by doing an old-fashioned football black-out if they make a donation of £10.
“I am so grateful for all of the support and, genuinely, just want to raise as much as I can at the same time as making Sarah – and Louise – proud when I am on the dancefloor!"
