Glitz and glamour in Strictly Wolves charity show

More than 500 people swapped watching the real thing on TV for the Strictly Dancing With Wolves charity night.

The now annual event, organised by football fan group Punjabi Wolves Supporters, saw 12 contestants and their professional dancing partners take to the stage.

A variety of dancing styles – performed with varying degrees of success – were on show with the audience left enthralled to the last.

A panel of five judges including singer Jaki Graham and celebrity hairdresser Royston Blythe kept the dancers on their toes with some cutting comments.

Funds raised from the night went to Compton Hospice, Promise Dreams, British Heart Foundation, Delete Blood Cancer and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Around £8,000 has been raised already and the figure is expected to rise.

Twelve couples were whittled down to three, who took part in a dramatic dance-off before the judges crowned contestant Gurprit Bains and her partner Nathan Barker as the winners.

The 32-year-old, from Tipton, said she never expected to come out on top in the hotly-contested show.

"I love Strictly Come Dancing and I love dancing, it was such a thrill.

"I've always thought about doing something like this and Delete Blood Cancer is a great charity so that was a big motivation.

"It's one of the best nights of my life."

The couple had wowed the judges with a scintillating jive, earning the top score of 48 out of 50.

Judge Taz said they had 'set the floor on fire'.

The pair narrowly edged ahead of Nadean Tilt and Richard Freakley, whose Argentine Tango had the crowd on its feet and scored 46.

Jaki Graham told the pair: "I felt every step, you were so graceful."

And Taz added: "You had the moves, you had the passion – I loved every second."

The third finalist was Sam Bloor with her partner Neil Solomon, whose elegant waltz scored 39 and was hailed as 'very smooth and very classy' by judge Warren Bullock, a professional dancer.

Judge Jaki, who scored three top 10 hits in the 1980s, paid tribute to the contestants.

She said: "It's been a wonderful event and I've had a great night, it's been lots of fun.

"The standard of dancing was so good and I love seeing the whole thing from the perspective of the judges, especially Warren as he was looking at the technique.

"The main thing is the money raised for so many good charities. It was really tough to chose a winner – Nadean's tango was incredible – but Gurprit deserved it, she was phenomenal."

Event organiser Kirsty Frazer said it had been a fantastic night.

She added: "What I liked more than anything was the mix of people, from all different backgrounds sitting together.

"That's what our motto is, it shows diversity.

"We might be Punjabi Wolves Supporters, but we want people from all different backgrounds to be involved.

"The dancers all worked really hard, hats off to all of them, as well as the professionals that gave up their time to take part.

"It's all about promoting dancing to a younger audience and of course raising money for such worthy charities.

"I imagine we'll hold it again next year if we have the interest again.

"I'd like to thank everyone who took part and help organise the event and making it such a success." The evening also including a raffle, with prizes including a Wolves shirt signed by defender Danny Batth.

There was also a tribute to eight members of the supporters group who cycled an incredible 300 miles in three days to mark the anniversary of the First World War.

The challenge, one of many organised by the group in recent years, started at Molineux and ended in Ypres earlier this month.