Debbie McGee has always lived an incredibly active life and it’s going to take more than a niggling injury to slow her down. The TV star tells Good Housekeeping she’s been forced to put some of her favourite workouts on hold while she recovers from a persistent strain, but she’s hit upon the perfect way to keep moving as her body heals.
‘All my life, I’ve always exercised a lot,’ Debbie tells us. ‘I don’t mean the gym – I hate the gym – but I’ve always done Pilates and yoga, and danced. But then, for the last year, I’ve had a damaged inguinal tendon in my stomach.’
The inguinal tendon is a band of connective tissue that sits at the base of the abdomen and plays a key role in supporting the abdominal muscles. And as a result of her injury, Debbie tells us she’s had to temporarily halt any exercise that involves bending forwards. ‘It’s healing slowly, but it’s been a weird year because I can’t do all the things I used to do,’ she says. ‘I tried to keep going with yoga and Pilates, but it just aggravated [the injury] and it wasn’t healing.’
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Debbie makes sure she stays active around the home
Simply resting up doesn’t appeal to Debbie, who tells us she’s inspired by parents who remained active into their 80s. ‘I remember my dad was 84 and up a ladder on the roof,’ she says. ‘I went mad at him, but he just said, “I’ve done it all my life. If I stop doing it, I’ll get old.” Those things stay in my head.’ So, rather than just pausing her fitness regime, Debbie has come up with some creative ways to adapt, building easy strengthening moves into her everyday household routine.
‘While I’m around the kitchen, I do things like rising up on my feet to strengthen my calf muscles. And I do my old ballet pliés, which are like squats, really,’ she says. ‘If I’m bending down to go in a cupboard, I can’t bend forward with my stomach, so I bend my knees out, like ballet second position. I do that every time I go into a cupboard. So that’s keeping me exercising all the time. That keeps your legs stretched and strong.’
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Debbie in her kitchen, where she combines cooking with simple exercise moves
Touchingly, she says that memories of her beloved late husband, magician Paul Daniels, continue to inspire her efforts. ‘Paul used to say, “Every time you walk through a doorway, pull your tummy in and stand up straighter.” And actually, if you connect a doorway with that, you do suddenly go, “Oh, yeah, I’m slouching; I’m going to stand more upright.” All those little things add up.’
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Debbie says she remembers her late husband Paul’s words of wisdom on posture
Making a cup of tea or popping a pan on the hob has now become another reminder to move, she adds. ‘I’ve got two light weights in the kitchen for my arms, because I thought, “Oh, no, my arms are starting to go a bit.” So I’ve started doing bicep curls and things like that while I’m waiting for something to boil. I want to make sure my arms and my legs stay strong.’
Debbie has also been gently incorporating her love of ballroom dancing into her routine, ensuring she continues to stoke the passion ignited by her time on Strictly Come Dancing.
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Debbie has such fond memories of her time on Strictly Come Dancing
‘That was my dream job! The music, the dancing, the lovely people, everything,’ she reminisces. ‘What I do now, four days a week, is a salsa Latin workout at home, on YouTube. After the summer recess, I’ll go back to doing some ballroom and Latin classes locally, probably twice a week.’
Debbie tells us she enjoys the classes both for the workout itself and the social element. ‘I don’t like walking on my own and it’s so hard to organise it with other people when you’re a busy person,’ she says. ‘So I just love dancing classes.’
‘And if you do ballroom and Latin, you can keep doing that for as long as you can walk,’ she says. ‘It’s not something you have to give up as you age. I think we all know now that keeping your balance and keeping yourself strong is important as you get older. Dancing is good for your cardio and it keeps your core and legs strong.’
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Debbie pictured in her kitchen at home
It’s not just exercise that’s helping Debbie look and feel youthful at 67. The TV star tells us she’s thrilled by the results of her first-ever aesthetic treatment, NeoGen Plasma, which uses a controlled skin ‘injury’ to trigger fresh collagen.
Debbie underwent a £4,500 course of six treatments at Reading’s Aspire Clinic last year and credits this no-knife tweakment for doing something she never expected: shifting stubborn age spots and enabling her to finally ditch heavy foundation.
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Debbie had incredible results on pigmentation from a course of NeoGen Plasma
‘I had a great big brown age spot,’ she explains. ‘It wasn’t a mole – it was two, but they kind of covered this area of my cheek, and my father had exactly the same and they’re unsightly. So, I always had to cover it with makeup, and if I didn’t, people would say, “What’s that?”’
With her autobiography, A Magical Life, out in October, Debbie decided that it was time to finally do something about it with NeoGen. It’s a treatment loved by a host of celebrities, including Shirley Ballas, Leslie Ash and Christine Hamilton, a friend of Debbie’s who recommended she try it.
The speed of the results blew Debbie away, she tells us. ‘I was a real sun-worshipper back in the day, so I had lots of freckles, too,’ she says. ‘The first thing I noticed was, “Oh, my goodness, they’ve all faded!” And by the second treatment, they were gone.’
‘The biggest thing it’s done for me is I don’t wear makeup any more on a day-to-day basis. It’s given me a confidence in myself that I didn’t have before, because I just feel much more natural.’
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Debbie says she feels far more confident after her non-invasive skin treatment
‘I used to look at people on TV and in photographs and think, “They’ve got such clear skin. Mine will never be like that because I’ve got all these tiny little brown freckles.” But NeoGen has got rid of them all. Now I’m the proud owner of a face with clear skin at my grand old age, so it’s a wonderful treatment in so many more ways than I would’ve ever thought possible.’
Debbie tells us she completed her initial course over a year ago and is delighted to remain pigmentation-free. ‘What I’ve found amazing is that it keeps on working. I’ve not had the top-up because I didn’t want downtime, but my skin seems to just get better and better.’
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Debbie loves how the tone and texture of her skin has improved
Her success with NeoGen hasn’t tempted her to try other anti-ageing tweakments, she says, noting that wrinkle toxins and fillers remain off-limits. ‘I’m frightened what will happen to me after them,’ she says. ‘I’d never touched my face with treatments [before NeoGen] and I never wanted a facelift. I still don’t ever want to be someone that people look at and say, “Oh, she’s had work.” I think too many people get addicted to it.’
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Debbie says she has no interest in any invasive treatments, preferring a natural look
Looking dramatically different is the exact opposite of her goal. ‘I don’t need to look younger,’ she says. ‘I don’t want to look like I’m in my 20s because my body isn’t a 20-year-old’s. I just want to do things that make me feel good about myself.’
For Debbie, NeoGen does exactly that and is worth a few days of redness while her skin heals. ‘It just promotes your own collagen. It’s not invasive,’ she says, ‘and so it’s a natural process, but it looks natural – and for me, that’s the most important thing.’
Debbie McGee had a series of six NeoGen treatments at the Aspire Clinic in Reading. NeoGen is available across the UK; find your closest clinic here