Stephenson "proud" of 'Strictly' success

Pamela Stephenson has admitted that she did not believe she would come so far in Strictly Come Dancing.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of tomorrow night's grand final, the 61-year-old acknowledged that she is the show's oldest ever finalist.

"I guess that I feel quite proud," she told journalists. "When I was in my twenties I don't think I could have done any of the things that I'm doing on Strictly. And I certainly wouldn't have believed that I would have been flipping over a younger mans head, holding him in a lift and doing all the things that we're doing.

Hoping to inspire other women of her age, Stephenson continued: "We've got three dances with lots of lifts, so it's kind of a marathon for everybody and I'm proud that I can still do it. There's no reason that anybody my age shouldn't in fact. It's perfectly possible to be athletic and enjoy dancing at this age.

"I was one of the people that thought that that couldn't happen and I'm very glad to be proving it wrong."

Asked if she can triumph in the final against Kara Tointon and Matt Baker, she confessed: "I have no idea - it's anybody's game!"

The Strictly Come Dancing final begins tomorrow at 7pm on BBC One.