Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Why I danced for seven days straight

Episode Date: October 10, 2026

A Nigerian man has completed a 168-hour dance marathon in a bid to set a new world record. Benjamin Daniel - better known as 'Ben Dancer' - moved and grooved for seven days straight in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest individual dance marathon. The 33-year-old would dance for eight hours before taking a 40-minute rest break. There were many times Ben wanted to give up, but he was spurred on by cheering crowds at Freedom Park in Lagos.Also: How Dolly Parton's dream of every child growing up in a house full of books is gradually becoming a reality. The 11-year-old chess prodigy who's made history as the youngest Woman Grandmaster ever. How an usher went from sweeping the aisles to performing on stage in the same theatre. And the grand reveal of a prank between friends that lasted 25 years.Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.Image: Ben Dancer dancing on stage at Freedom Park in Lagos. Credit: SAYCHEESEPresenter: Helena Burke. Music composed by Iona Hampson

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It felt like everything I believed in was suddenly collapsing. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school. in Indonesia with a dark secret of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else. And the investigation led by students, he's trying to silence. If this is leaked to the media, I'll be destroyed. This is World of Secrets, Catching My Teacher. Listen on BBC.com, the BBC app or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

This is The Happy Pose. from the BBC World Service. I'm Helena Burke, and in this edition, we find out how and why a man in Nigeria danced for seven days straight. On the third day, I almost wanted to give up because the pain was hitting me deeply. But I always remembered where I started,

and I kept going, and I kept going. We look at the impact of the millions of free books given to children by Dolly Parton and how her dream is now being expanded. Let's share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books. You will never know unless you try. The story of a theatre worker who's gone from sweeping the aisles to performing on centre stage.

The 11-year-old chess prodigy who's made history as the youngest woman grandmaster ever. And how a man in Scotland played the long game, spending 25 years pulling off the perfect prank on his best mate. Hi Kevin, remember me? And it was with a picture of someone wearing the top in London. Who was the person? I have no idea.

We begin in Nigeria, where a dancer has waltzed his way into the record books. Benjamin Daniel, or Ben Dancer, as he's better known, shuffled, swayed and spun his way through seven days of almost non-stop dancing. The 33-year-old was attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest dance marathon using the challenge to highlight the struggles face by professional dancers across Africa. I asked Ben what it was like to keep the rhythm going for 168 hours straight. I started from the first day the pain was intense. On the third day, I almost wanted to give up because the pain was hitting me deeply.

but I always remembered where I started. I said, we have a target, and we have to keep going. And I kept going. And I had the right thing. They were there with me. They understood my goal. Ben fell in love with dance as a child, and he's since built a career as a professional dancer in Nigeria.

But his years in the industry showed him that there were some serious problems. There are no structures that helps protect the dancers and then give them a sustainable and a long life. If you look at the situation of producers and writers in music, they get publishers, right? They have royalties that keeps them going, even after their career. So for dances, once you dance on a video set, once you dance maybe on a production, that's all.

They just pay you for the production that you did, and that's all. You have to pay for your medicals because you have to take care of your body because our body is our tool, right? You pay for the rehearsal space. You have to pay for costumes and all of this. So by the time you come back, there's nothing much that you can lead with. Ben wanted to bring the world's attention to the plight of African dancers. So he knew he had to do something big.

The current Guinness World Record for the longest dance marathon is five days and seven hours. Ben knew that with enough training, he could beat it. I was swimming for my breath control. I was boxing. I was doing weight lifting and I was doing cardio. I was doing yoga. So all of these things helped to prepare my body, prepare my mind for the seven days pain I was about to embark on.

After two years of preparation, Ben took to the stage in the city of Lagos. The Guinness World Record rules stipulate that for every one hour of dancing, you can have five minutes of rest. What I did was, I will dance for eight hours, then have 40 minutes. So it is enough 14 minutes that I will go to my resting room. In those 40-minute breaks, Ben would sleep, use the toilet, and get checked by a medical team. But what about eating and drinking? I was eating on the stage.

you will see there's a little table by the side. While I'm still dancing, I'm still eating. There were many times Ben wanted to give up as he felt his body or mind start to give way. But the constant stream of people coming to cheer him on kept him going. They would come during their work time. They would drive to me. They would check if I'm still standing.

Because at a point, people were doubting if I was going to make it. so they kept coming to check. So every time I see them, I get the courage to push. I feel like giving up whenever I see their faces and they laugh and they smile. Even when I'm in pain, I will smile at them. I would thank them for coming and I'm still dancing. Ben is still waiting for his record to be officially ratified, but he's already achieved his bigger goal,

shining a global spotlight on Africa's professional dancers. Beyond dance as an entertainment, dancers are custodians of culture globally. For Africa, for every part of the world, dancers are custodians of culture. I knew that the victory was not for me alone. The whole world, the dancers, now they have a voice. There's no hope for the new generation. Ben Dancer The death of Dolly Parton six weeks ago sparked an outpouring of grief and love from across the world.

But the Queen of Country wasn't just beloved for her music. Dolly was almost as well known for her philanthropy as she was for her songs. Since 1995, Dolly Parton's imagination library has been delivering free books to children every month. Today, the charity operates across five countries. In the wake of Dolly's passing, the scheme is now being expanded here in the UK, meaning tens of thousands more children will receive free books every month. Alfie Tobit has the details. Growing up poor with 11 siblings in rural Tennessee, books weren't a big part of Dolly Parton's childhood.

Well, we didn't have books in our home because there were so many of us kids and daddy told us not to bring books home because kids just chew on and pee on them and do whatever kids do. So he said, I can't afford to pay for books. It was Dolly's father's inability to read or write that inspired her to do something about low literacy rates in the United States. Now, he was one of the wisest men I've ever known, but I knew in my heart this inability to read probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true.

So inspiring kids to love to read became my passion and my mission. In 1995, Dolly launched the Imagination Library in her hometown in Tennessee, sending a book a month via post to children from birth until they turned five. The program grew rapidly. Really, the Imagination Library only had humble ambitions at the beginning. It was only ever supposed to be for Dolly's local town. But, you know, it goes so well in the local town. It goes countywide.

So well county guys. It goes statewide. And today it's up to sending books to one in five children across America. That's Steve Corris from Dolly's charity, the Dollywood Foundation. The Imagination Library was so successful in the US that it expanded into Canada in 2006, followed by the UK, then Australia, and most recently Ireland. Steve says more than 340 million free books have now been given to children through the programme. It's amazing. I mean, we continuously hear stories of families saying to us,

they can't really believe that it's such a great service because it's a free book that gets delivered through the letterbox every month. And it's a real nudge reminder for parents and families to sit down, with their children and read. There's a robust body of research showing that reading to young children helps their cognitive, linguistic, and emotional development. Books can also teach children important lessons about values like kindness and optimism,

like Dolly's favourite imagination library book, The Little Engine That Could. All the dolls and toy animals begin to smile and cheer. Puff, puff, chug, chug, went the little blue engine. I think I can, I think I can. Can I think I can? The Imagination Library is now being expanded in the UK. The programme, which currently operates in three boroughs in London,

will soon be available in 10 boroughs. Steve Corris says this expansion will see an additional 120,000 children become eligible for a free book every month. So really what we're trying to do across many London boroughs is to provide a community-wide experience for children to get involved in the program so that within a whole community you'll have the same children all then going to school, having read the same books. We usually start off with communities enrolling 10, 15% within their first six months of starting.

But we know through other communities that we've worked with that we can get up to 80, even 90% of the local area becoming enrolled in the programme over time. For London parents like Harriet's and her daughter, Sienna, the Imagination Library has been life-changing. He looks at the sky. He looks at the world. What do you think is about to shout? There's a shark in the park. There's a shark in the park.

Next page. We read together every day, and that's been made possible because we get a book once a month, so it's made a huge difference. And now that it's being expanded, what difference do you think it'll make overall for children in the capital?

This is going to make a word of a difference because what is going to mean is that parents don't have to worry about buying books, because buying books can be quite expensive. Throughout her 60-year career, Pardon sold over 100 million records, wrote more than 3,000 songs, and won 11 Grammy Awards. But the star said her greatest achievement was delivering books to children across the world. Before he passed away, my daddy told me that the imagination library probably was the most important

thing I'd ever done. Now, I can't tell you how much that meant to me because I created the imagination library as a tribute to my daddy. Let's share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books. The first step is always the hardest, but you will never know unless you try. The late Dolly Parton, ending that report by Alfie Tobit. To another performer now, this one on the other side of the world, in Australia. Ellen Ebb's was working as an usher at the Theatre Royal Sydney,

helping people get to their seats and cleaning up after performances. As she watched the musicals, the 24-year-old dreamed of being on the stage. stage herself. Two months ago, Ellen stepped into the spotlight for the first time at the same theatre where she used to sweep the aisles in a production of the classic musical Fiddler on the roof. I spoke to Ellen about her journey from the stalls to the stage. I came straight out of drama school, graduated, moved back home and was like, right, let's get, as we call a muggle job. And I started working at Theatre Royal Sydney as an usher and I loved it. I was like, It was like a hack for a person that is trying to be in theatre,

getting paid to watch shows every night and performers that I looked up to so much. And every night just felt like a free masterclass, to be honest. And when you were in the theatre and the performance was going, were you ever imagining yourself up there on the stage? I definitely was quietly manifesting it. But truly, I would kind of tell myself, Okay, maybe in like five years time, I would be up there. You tell me about how you came to be cast in Fiddle on the Roof?

You originally auditioned for a different role, didn't you? Not the role of Hodel that you ended up getting. I did a self-tape, and then I got called into the room, and they called me back for Zytel, which is actually the older sister. So I presented the Zytel material. And then the next callback was actually the final, and that was with Jordan Fine, the director from the original Regents Park,

open air production, and I presented the Zytal material, and then he was like, okay, can you leave the room for one second? And I was like, oh God, what's whatever done? And then they actually got me to do the hoddle material. Two weeks later, my agent called me, and I was on the way to dinner with my friend.

I was just, like, walking on the street. And she called me, and I was just, like, in complete shock. I literally fell to the ground and, like, started crying because I just, I could not believe it there that I had booked the show. What was opening night like? How did it feel when you first stepped out onto the stage in the same theatre where you used to work? It was crazy. I've never felt a feeling like that. Even just coming into the wing, I got a wave of emotion that I wasn't really expecting because the fire exit door was right near the wing and like as an usher, you need to check the fire exits.

and I would always take my time and, you know, look around, sit, look in the wings and, like, try to get a peek, because that was the closest you could get to the stage as an usher. And so when we walked on the stage, I was like, oh, my God, I could just, like, see myself as an usher in that area. But this time, I was performing. And then as soon as that curtain kind of lifted, and I could just see a packed theatre and just this wall of energy. and then I could see the ushers on the side, I just immediately a tear came out of my eye because I was just like, this is so crazy. Like this is so full circle.

And so, yeah, it came out in tears because I just, yeah, I couldn't hold it in. It was truly incredible. And when you're on stage performing, do you ever see your old colleagues out in the stalls? Yes, of course, every single night. And I used to love it because I could see them. I'd be like, okay, there's Sienna at Door.

one, James is that door two. I could see who was who and who was where. So I could feel their energy and like cheering me on. And on the closing night on Saturday, just gone, it was so cute. They all came in for boughs and there was like 15 ushers on either side of stage left and right, screaming and cheering and all like filming. It was just so beautiful and really, really nice to have their support throughout the whole thing. Ellen Ebb's.

Coming up in this podcast, how two decades of mysterious emails and a missing football jersey came to a head. I instantly knew it was the top. It was the top. I was just lost for words. I couldn't believe it. The fact that it was literally 25 years as well. Your sales order says one thing.

Your inventory says another. Your spreadsheet says, good luck. Odu brings your business together on a single platform From sales and accounting to inventory and marketing, visit odoo.com to book a demo. It's OD-O-O.com. It felt like everything I believed in was suddenly collapsing. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia

with a dark secret, of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else. And the investigation led by students, he's trying to silence. If this is leaked to the media, I'll be the same. This is World of Secrets, Catching My Teacher. Listen on BBC.com, the BBC app or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. An 11-year-old girl has become the youngest chess player in history to achieve the title of Woman Grandmaster.

Badanas Ivmanandan, who's from London, reached the milestone at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan. Lucy Atchison has the details. When Badaana Severn Undun sits down to face her opponents, the 11-year-old needs a booster seat to lift her high enough to see across the chess board. But that hasn't stopped her reaching incredible heights. On September the 27th, Bidana earned her third woman Grand Master Norm at the annual chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Norms are games at elite tournaments that count towards international titles. Securing her third norm meant Bidana had met all the requirements to become a woman grandmaster. I didn't really know that I got my final norm

and I didn't realize I was the youngest to do so either but yeah, I was happy and now I feel like it's kind of sunk in a bit. Badana first started playing chess at the age of five during the COVID lockdown. After discovering an old set that belonged to her father, she quickly became fascinated by the game. I really liked how the pieces looked, especially the knight and the queen. and I wanted to use them as toys outside of chess. But then my dad told me that the next person who got the board

wouldn't be able to play chess properly. So instead, he taught me the basics and how to play. And then I liked it. So from that, I kept on playing. By the age of eight, Badana had become the youngest player ever to draw against a grandmaster at a European championship. A year later, she became the youngest female player to beat one. I kind of just kept going to tournaments

and I enjoyed it as well. I had to learn a lot more about the game and still a lot more to learn out. And then I learned about concepts and things like that. And then I kind of just searched up videos on YouTube and just found them and saw what I liked. And I just enjoyed it. While chess remains a male-dominated sport,

female participation is growing rapidly. According to the International Chess Federation, the number of women and girls taking part is increasing across every region of the world. The woman grandmaster title is the highest female-only distinction in chess. The most prestigious achievement overall is the open grandmaster title, which can be earned by players of any gender. 44 women in history have achieved that honour.

Could Badana become number 45? For now, the 11-year-old says she's taking things one move at a time. I'm not sure what exactly is next. I don't think I have like a set aim. just wants to keep playing tournaments and enjoying chess and see how far I can go. But Dana Sivananda, ending that report by Lucy Acheson. If you're under the age of 40, there's a good chance that most couples, you know, met on a dating app. But for many singles, swiping is more frustrating than fruitful.

Mary Timby was feeling exactly this way when she decided to try and find love in a very old-fashioned way. On a whim, she flew from the US to Ireland for a matchmaking festival that's been bringing people together every year since 1857. There, she met Jason. My colleague Sheila Flynn spoke to the couple about their unconventional love story. I had been to the festival three to four times in the past. I kind of gone back for the Irish traditional music and the culture. And yeah, I see Mary in the matchmaker bar and here we are today.

Mary, tell me. what your first impressions were of the festival, whether it lived up to expectations or was different. The culture here is just the warmth, and I felt really at home. I felt very welcomed. I had ran into a couple women from Jersey, and I told them, oh, there's this matchmaking festival in Liz Dunvarnah. I think I'm going to stop by, and we just sort of joined forces and went to the festival together. The next day, I woke up, and my Irish-Arys. Airbnb host said, how was it? How was it? Did you meet anyone? What did you think? And I said, well, you know, it was kind of slow. The age group was older. And my Airbnb host said, you should, you should go back tonight. Because I heard that the younger folks come out at night. And I said, okay, I'll give it another try. So we are at the matchmaking bar. And I go to the bar to get a drink. And there's this handsome Irishman there. I was staying open. I didn't think much of it. And then. He came up and said hello.

Yeah, I went over and introduced myself. A conversation was kind of flown at the time, and it just felt really genuine connection. But unfortunately, I didn't have much time in my hands. So I got her name, and I said, oh, sure, I might see you around. And then the next day, I found her on social media, and I sent her at Hickst, and I said, look, here's my number. I'd like to maybe meet for a coffee.

It was nothing kind of overfancy or anything like that. I'm glad you followed up. Yeah. And what had both of your expectations been about actually finding a match at the festival? There is no formal program to this festival. You don't go and get matched. You go, you dance, you connect, and that's how the festival has been for 160 years. So let's go back to your courtship and how it developed.

When I sent a message, I wasn't really expecting anything back. So when I did get a response, I shocked to my... myself. We were kind of just chatting for a while and then I kind of asked Mary, was she around for much longer? And she actually told me that she was returning home. So I was a bit devastated about that, but then I extended my trip for the for the boy. And we went to dinner and conversation just flowed and there was a connection and I just kept extending my time here. I mean, we've really falling in love. I did eventually have to go. home to real life. And that was so tough. It was. It was hurt. It was very hard. It was very hard.

Tears at the airport. It was very tough to start a long-distance relationship. But it ended up being a really great opportunity for us to slow things down a little bit from the world in. Have you gotten responses from people saying, because of you, I got this idea to go to Lisztune Varna. I have received many messages saying, hey, I'm going to Liston Varna because I saw your video and I'm so excited for them and excited that they're taking that chance to put your phone down and put yourself out there and good things will come to you. You know, it may be at a matchmaking festival in Ireland or it may be on a hike or it may be on a boat ride, but I think just putting yourself out there is really the best advice we can give. Sometimes you just got to take the leap forward

and see how you go. Mangan. We end this episode in Scotland with a prank between friends that lasted for a quarter of a century. It began in 2001 when Kevin Hill went searching for his favourite football top, a green and white Celtic strip with the name of his favourite player on the back. He couldn't find it. A few weeks later, he started to receive strange emails updating him about the jersey's whereabouts. Stephen Godden has the story. Ian, please. Ian. Ian Wright's brief spell at Celtic at the turn of the century

was a less celebrated chapter in the Arsenal Legends career. But for one fan, it brought together his two footballing loves in one perfect present. My name's Kevin, massive Celtic fan. To have my absolute hero sign for us and be able to have his name on the back of him, my team's shirt is just amazing. But to Kevin's school friend, Chris,

the strip provided an opportunity for some friendly revenge. Kev had played a prank on me and I was determined to get him back. I took his Celtic strip unbeknownst to him with Ian Wright in the back, very recognisable strip, sent it off around the world, set up a fake email address and sent him periodically photographs of it in exotic locations. Hi Kevin, remember me? Yeah, that's right. It's your Ian Wright Celtic strip and it was with a picture of someone wearing the top in London.

Who was the person? I have no idea. If I knew somebody was going on holiday, I'd send it off for them and say, right, just get a random stranger, ideally in front of a recognisable landmark, hold up the strip, get a photograph on job done. I think it was Barcelona. It went to Venice. It then found its way to Turkey. Chicago, Lake Michigan. Puerto Rico.

Where else to go? Machu Picchu. Vegas. Vegas. Yes, it did go to Vegas. Easter Island, of course, was a cracker. If you had to pick out one favourite. I would say it's Christ the Redeemer in Brazil

because it's a place that personally I would love to go to so the fact that my strip's been there but I haven't is quite a cool story I think But any worthwhile prank needs a good reveal I got an invitation to his wedding And I thought right this is a perfect time Gathered everyone round and said Kevin We've got a little surprise for you

Hey hey how you doing come and have a look at this Handed over the present and he opened it Which was obviously the photo book with all the photographs and the return of this trip I instantly knew it was the top. It was the D-top. I was just lost for words. I couldn't believe it.

The fact that it was literally 25 years as well as a nice number. I've got a slight compression. It's not the original strip, I'm afraid to say. It's not. Oh no. The original lost somewhere in South America. A convincing replacement was hard to find. The solution involved eBay and iron-on lettering.

A lot of love went into that. It was a way to say you're done. You've done very well then. Still friends? Of course, absolutely, yeah. Well done, thanks. Kevin Hill and Chris Robertson. And that's all from the Happy Pod for now.

We'd love to hear from you. As ever, the address is global podcast at BBC.co.com. I'm Helena Burke, and the editor is Karen Martin. Until next time, goodbye. It felt like everything I believed in was suddenly collapsing. This is the story. of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia with a dark secret

of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else. And the investigation led by students he's trying to silence. If this is leaked to the media, I'll be destroyed. This is World of Secrets, catching my teacher. Listen on BBC.com,

the BBC app or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.