‘Keep dancing’ as Strictly’s Katya Jones joins Silver Sunday 2025

Middlesex hosts Age UK’s Silver Sunday celebration for third year running

Once again Middlesex University hosted Age UK’s Silver Sunday, the national day dedicated to celebrating the contributions of older adults to society and to tackling isolation among the elderly.

This year, Strictly Come Dancing’s resident professional Katya Jones and actor Carolyn Pickles who starred in Emmerdale, Broadchurch and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I gave the event added star quality.

Katya stressed the importance of movement as you get older and that dance is a fantastic mood booster. She urged attendees to ‘keep dancing’ while Carolyn Pickles advocated chair yoga saying everyone can do it.

Hundreds of people visited Middlesex’s campus on 5/10 in one of the largest Silver Sunday events in the country.

The University held the event in partnership with Age UK Barnet and the London Borough of Barnet in collaboration with local community groups. The Mayor of Barnet, Danny Rich, joined the celebration and the dancing.

Age UK Barnet’s CEO, Helen Newman, opened the event followed by a welcome speech from Middlesex University Vice-Chancellor Professor Shân Wareing.

Prof Wareing said: “We’re delighted to be hosting this event yet again and it’s bigger than ever.

“We are also proud to draw our student body from across all sectors of our community. This summer we celebrated the graduation of our youngest - Vera Cree. An amazingly talented young women, who has been awarded a Bachelor of Science degree at just 14 years old.

“But we are also immensely proud of Dr Needyanand Raya, who this year achieved his lifetime ambition of completing a PhD - at the age of 69 – and I understand has no plans of stopping his studies.

“Education is a lifelong journey and, as Dr Raya shows us, it is never too late to take on a new challenge and to master it.”

Also attending the event was Colindale South Councillor Gill Sargeant, who is Barnet Council’s Ageing Well Champion. She urged attendees to enjoy the day, visit the stalls, speak to the Age Friendly champions, and find something new.

MDX Vice-Chancellor, Shân Waring with celebrities and organisers of Silver Sunday

Free activities and advice sessions were available as well as performances from the North London Rock Choir.

Middlesex academic and psychologist, Dr Andrea Oskis, presented a talk on the impact of the food we eat.

Other talks included one on building connections by Prof Catherine Loveday, a session on understanding Wills and lasting power of attorney and inheritance tax by local law firm Fahri LLP and another on scam awareness and prevention.

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Age UK, said: “Silver Sunday provides an opportunity for the people in Barnet, across all generations, to come together and celebrate older people in our society.

“It also gives older people who may be feeling lonely the chance to connect with their community, try new things, and make some new friends. We hope too that coming along to an event with us on Silver Sunday gives people a taste of what Age UK Barnet has to offer all year round, as we know it takes time to build real connections and confidence.”

Other high-profile visitors from the community included David Pinto-Duschinsky, the MP for Hendon and Brunswick Park.