A hospice nurse and her husband from St Albans made it through to the final three in the dance-off at The Hospice of St Francis’ Strictly Learn Dancing grand finale.

Mum-of-three, Florence Yass and her husband Mike performed the cheeky Charleston and the passionate Paso Doble in front of a 500-strong audience at Berkhamsted’s Centenary Theatre after just six weeks of training with professional instructors Brian and Shirley Cusworth from Balia-Cusworth Dance School.

But despite impressing the independent judges with their timing and polish, they narrowly missed out on the coveted Strictly trophy, which was won by the Hospice’s chaplain, Ray Ashley-Brown and his wife Claudia.

Seventeen courageous couples took part in the charity extravaganza, now in its fifth year, raising over £25,000 between them for the Berkhamsted-based charity, which relies on voluntary donations for 80 per cent of its £4.7m annual running costs to provide free care for people living with life-shortening illnesses and their families across Herts and Bucks.

Florence, 45, said: "I feel extremely privileged to work at the Hospice - it’s like a dream come true and doing Strictly has been a great opportunity to do something together as a couple and give something back to an incredible charity.

"We decided it’s possible to do so much more by giving our time to try and help make a difference. We had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for at the start, but it’s been an amazing experience. The most nerve-wracking moment was standing in the wings, waiting to be called on stage but the buzz in the Green Room during the performances was amazing."

Florence and Mike have raised nearly £2,000 so far, including donations on their just giving page - https://www.justgiving.com/Florence-Mike-Yass/.