Edwina Currie is jewish, who traditionally have very strict rules about their holy day, Saturday.

Traditionally no-one should do any type of work on that day.

Will Edwina not be compromised as by dancing she is technically "working"?

Also some types of Christian church frown on dancing on the sabbath - does this apply to the Jewish faith. Or is it beacuse the show is after sundown so technically she won't actually dance on the sabbath?

She'll be at studio rehearsals all day on Saturday, even though the show itself is after the Sabbath ends so it would be a problem for anyone who is orthodox to do Strictly. As Edwina Currie isn't orthodox, though, I don't suppose it's a problem for her.

I'm just guessing here, but I assume they also have fairly strict rules about getting involved with married men. So I don't think Edwina's going to be unduly worried about that side of things.

from wiki.

I don't think Edwina's tussle "to dance or not to dance on a Sunday" will cause her too much anxiety.

As an MP there must have been many times she was called upon to work on the Sabbath.

Think it's OK, as long as it's not on the sabbath.

It didn't seem to bother Rachel Stevens, Esther Rantzen or Felicity Kendal!

And Edwina isn't the only Jewish woman taking part this year- surprisingly, Nancy Dell'Olio is also a Jew.

Shouldn't that be *the second most famous Jew after Jesus*??

I'm not sure that Edwina is a practising Jew.

From a Q&A interview in 2009 in The Independent -

Do you still consider yourself to be Jewish since your father reacted so strongly to your marriage to a non-Jew?

I was born and brought up Orthodox Jewish - nothing will ever change that. There are three aspects to being Jewish. The first is genetic - I look Jewish and sound Jewish. The second is cultural - that's to do with family values and care in the community that we generally take for granted. I try to practice this in my own life - giving to charity and caring for others is very deeply ingrained. The third aspect is religion. This is where I part company with the Jewish faith. I find religious mumbo jumbo hard to swallow in any faith. Politically I do not subscribe to the state of Israel and hatred of Arabs. In that sense I don't live a Jewish life these days.

Ha of course!

Seriously that comment was embarrassing. As a member of a large Italian family, I can think of at least twenty celebrities of Italian origin who are more famous in the UK than Nancy!

Going to back to the OP, Arlene Phillips was also a Jew- so worked every Saturday on Strictly for 5 years!

Except Norma Major of course.

Moses was the second most famous. Nancy is only number three.

When the jewish exodus wandered for years in the Sinai Desert they got bored and organised a dancing feast honouring Baal the golden bull, featuring very many ladies wearing very few clothes, sabbath or no sabbath. For all we know they had 4 judges holding up a paddle showing a mark out of 10.

Moses then returned from the mountain with Ten Commandments and smote them mightily. Edwina and Nancy take note.

Does that mean we could lose Vinthente and Anton as collateral damage? [Was going to say as victims of secondary smoteing but grammatically incorrect. And not funny.]

Only true believers qualify for smiting or smoting.

That's a shame.

On this board, both Vincent and Flavia are more famous than Nancy is!!

The woman appears delusional!

JJ (wandering slightly off-topic)

Blimey, I never knew Felicity Kendall was Jewish.


Goodness, I've learnt two things today.

I may have to go have a lie down.

Very good Soulmate This thread is cracking me up!

Before you lie down, Felicity converted, so she may be more devout than others.

When I left school I worked for a Jewish Solicitor and he could not work Saturday morning but he could Saturday afternoon, so don't know if this has any bearing on the fact that it is their sabbath. Would be interesting to have anyone's comments on this. By the way ... he was the best boss I ever had !!

Oh dear, oh dear, not every Jew is Orthodox or raised in the strict tradition of sabbath rules!

Don't forget this feisty lady was an active politician and minister for many years and certainly had to work and travel every day of the week.

Jewish, maybe, but Orthodox? I doubt it.

At London's northerly latitude of 51 degrees three stars should be there in the sky by Saturday afternoon, still invisible to the naked eye in weakening sunlight but visible through a telescope. What ingenuity!

Three stars in the sky?
Easy - Jason Donovan on a trapeze,
the Italian diva sitting on a football kicked into the sky by Ola's new partner, and
Tess learning skydiving.

Strange thread. How many folks who are born Christian keep to the 10 commandments . . . .

Very strange. Commenting on a contestant's religious / ethnic background.

ROFLMAO!!!!