A plucky cancer survivor dubbed the ‘Grinding Granny’ because of her outrageous dancefloor moves is living it up like a teenager – despite being aged 80.
Great-gran Jean Hodgetts likes nothing better than strutting her stuff – and earned her nickname by ‘grinding’ against men a quarter her age.
She has also cavorted with a male stripper at a hen do, cuddled a bare-chested hunk at a fancy dress party, gone for a spin in a go-kart and taken a fairground ride.
Jean decided to start enjoying life again after recovering from mouth cancer.
She was celebrating with her family at a local pub in Merseyside when she felt the urge to dance.
Her husband Dennis, 80, looked on in amazement as she took to the floor in pursuit of younger men.
Grandson Lee, 18, said: “She just got up and began dancing with some local men as if she was 20 again.
“Everyone roared with laughter and Jean danced the night away.
“The passion and energy she puts into her dancing captivated everyone in the room. Everyone was staring at my nan living life to the full and I felt proud of her.”
Lee added: “She always dances, I think at one point she wanted to be a dancer. She loves Latin music and Elvis, but if I put on modern pop music she’ll dance to that too.
“All my friends knows her as my crazy nan, they all tell me she is so funny. I think she thinks she is 18, and she really shows that age is just a number.
“She’s always the centre of attention, and Dennis has to take a back seat and watch her flirt with the younger men. But they are madly in love and he doesn’t mind.”
Lee says his grandma has always had a mischievous side and is totally adored by her six children, 13 grandchildren and four-year-old great-grandson.
He says the whole family have been amazed by her recovery from chronic mouth cancer and never thought she would be able to dance again.
Lee said: “She was diagnosed when she was 78 and the whole family’s hearts were torn apart.
“The woman who was the glue of our family, the matriarch who we all adored was unwell.
“After an eight-hour operation on her mouth she was unable to speak. It took a long time before she regained her speech and she lost all her energy and liveliness.
“She was so ill for about a year or two, and I never thought at that stage that she would ever dance again.
“But she is now better at dancing than ever.”
The family, who all live within minutes of each other in St Helens, Merseyside, make sure that Jean and Dennis, who have been married 54 years, get out of the house every day.
Lee says the secret to their youthfulness is that there is always someone at their house.
“It could be the person that has knocked on their door to check their broadband or a neighbour asking to borrow something,” he said.
“Whatever it is about, Jean will invite them in. Their house is always lively, as Jean is so interested in other people.”
