Vet’s secret life on the dance floor

HELEN WILSON

ALL dressed up in her dazzling dress and spangly shoes, Helen Watson doesn’t look like your average vet.

But when she’s not tending to sickly mogs and poorly dogs at County’s End Veterinary Hospital she can often be seen tearing up the dance floor at her regular tap dancing lessons.

There’s nothing the toe-tapping vet likes more after a stressful day at the Lees practice than slipping on her dancing shoes and losing herself to the sounds of the musicals at the Susan Wilson dance school in Dukinfield.

The 35-year-old, who has been working at the High Street practice for 14 months, keeps her evening activities largely under wraps, and her patients could well be surprised to learn that the prim white jacket is regularly swapped for “Strictly Come Dancing”-style posh frocks.

Helen, from Royton, said: “I love my dancing and I’ve been going to the tap class for 10 years, but there’s a time and a place to talk about it and I have to stay very professional in the consulting room, especially since some of the pets are very ill.

“Some people might be surprised to learn that there’s more to me than being a vet, but I just love my dance classes, and while I love being a vet, it’s a great way to relax after a hard day, as well as being great fun.”

And if any of Helen’s customers have had their curiosity peaked, they can catch her in a special show her class at the dance school will be staging at the Stockport Plaza.

The tappers put on a show every 18 months and audiences can expect energetic tap dancing against a backdrop of pop songs and the famous musicals, including “Chicago” and “Cabaret”.

The show, “A Touch of Magic”, will be staged on November 8.