22-07-2025
Baton of Hope: Britain's Got Talent group to dance after Kent leg
An over-40s dance troupe from Kent that featured on Britain's Got Talent will perform at an event supporting the Baton of Hope suicide prevention Movers will be among performers at Dreamland in Margate on 22 September, marking the relay's passage through the performance will follow the Olympic torch-style baton travelling through Medway, Maidstone, Canterbury and Thanet as part of a nationwide dance group appeared on the ITV talent show in 2024, and organiser Debs Forsyth said the group was "really looking forward to being a part of the Baton of Hope".
Ms Forsyth said she felt strongly about the campaign's message after a member of her extended family took their own life in 2023."He was fun, lovely, everybody loved him," she said, and his death came as a "big shock".
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The dance instructor added that Midlife Movers, which she started in 2022, had helped its members' mental health by establishing social groups and keeping participants busy."A lot of people say that for that hour they're concentrating on something else other than their problems," Ms Forsyth group has members aged between 40 and 86 about 300 "movers" at its sessions across Kent.
More than 130 people will be involved in carrying the baton as it crosses the well as raising awareness of suicide prevention support, the Baton of Hope campaign aims to encourage people to talk openly about their mental health and Medway Baton of Hope Tour coordinator, Alice Scutchey, thanked the people working for helping baton bearers and communities "remember loved ones, celebrate hope and stand up to suicide stigma".
The Baton of Hope will tour 20 locations around the UK in 2025, passing through East Sussex on 23 first toured the country in 2023.
