News outwith Moray: Michelle dances for Rylan and other Comic Relief stars
A champion Highland dancer from Forgue helped send off a group of three celebrities who are trekking across the Cairngorms for Comic Relief.
Rylan Clark, Emma Willis and Oti Mabuse have left their luxury lifestyles behind and are currently hiking all the way from Braemar to Aviemore.
Michelle Gordon was among the dancers asked to perform a Highland Reel down the main street in Braemar on Wednesday at the beginning of the four-day challenge.
Having agreed to lend her support, Michelle had to wake up at 4am to get ready and travel over to Braemar in enough time for the early morning start.
The 22-year-old said: "It was still dark while we were practising, It was also very chilly. I think all our toes went a bit numb."
As the excitement mounted before the send-off, Michelle was interviewed live on Breakfast TV along with the three other dancers from the north east – Rosey Watt of Macduff, Lily Kelman of Inverness and Aberdeen's Rebecca Thow.
Michelle said: "Rylan was really funny.
"He came right over to us and said, 'I was thinking of wearing that'.
"There was a great atmosphere in the village. The TV cameras were there and a really good crowd of people had come out to wish them well on their challenge."
Michelle, who's been Highland dancing since the age of three, is a former junior world champion and was a runner-up in last year's adult competition.
She said: "I love dancing. It's given me so many opportunities."
A fortnight ago Michelle was in London to perform at an evening organised by the Doddie Weir Foundation, where the audience included Dame Judy Dench and J.K Rowling.
She's also danced before Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, while last summer saw her invited on a two-week tour of Germany.
Celebrity Big Brother winner Rylan and the others are due to arrive at the finish line in Aviemore tomorrow.
Their challenge involves camping out in the wild each night as well as climbing to the summit of Cairn Gorm.
Emma Willis presents The Voice, while Oti Mabuse was one of the professionals on Strictly Come Dancing and is now a judge on Dancing on Ice.
A camera crew are accompanying the trio on their trek to film a documentary for Comic Relief.
