Copies snapped up of dancer's autobiography

Barbara Stewart sold more than 50 of her autobiographies, Dancing through Life..., within a day of its publication.

The first copies went at the launch at her publisher's house near Aylesbury.

Others had been pre-ordered by her friends at the Bognor Regis United Reformed Church in Linden Road. The book tells her story on stage from dancing professionally at the age of 14 and appearing at venues such as the Shepherds Bush and Hackney Empires and the London Palladium in the next two years.

The past 20 years have seen Barbara appear in favourite TV series such as Dave Allen, Lovejoy, Only Fools and Horses, EastEnders and the All New Harry Hill Show.

It is the latter which she singles out for a special mention.

She said: 'The most exciting experience has to be working with Harry Hill at the age of 78 on television. Going for an audition as a dancer in my late 70s was special.'

But there were also some sadder moments to recall as Barbara (83), of May Close, jogged her memory. 'I had put some of them at the back of my mind and to bring them to the fore made me shed a few tears,' she explained.

Her desire to write about her life arose after a chance chat with the editor of publisher, TwigBooks.

That was four years ago. Her initial series of short stories about her experiences was expanded at the company's request into a 296-page illustrated recollection of her memories.

'I really got down to writing the book seriously two years ago,' said Barbara.

'I quite enjoyed it because it was a good excuse not to do any house work. But I got very tired.'

She wrote her experiences by hand and her husband, Wally Vanner, input them on to a computer.

It begins when Barbara started dancing lessons at the age of four-and-a-half while she was growing up in West Hampstead, north London.

She made her stage debut just six months later and was born to dance according to family, friends and observers.

That she did as the book recounts her adventures touring during the Second World War Blitz, Blackpool summer seasons, the wartime ENSA shows in the UK, Africa, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Germany and her post-war years.

She and Wally moved to Bognor 26 years ago and opened a restaurant in The Arcade.

Dancing through Life..., priced 12.99 plus p and p, is available from TwigBooks, 1-2 Biggs Lane, Dinton, Aylesbury HP17 8UH or through its www.twigbooks.com website.