A Helston woman whose exercise and dance classes have helped boost the confidence of people throughout the county will have her own moment in the spotlight this Saturday when she takes part in the Olympic Torch Relay.

Becci Gower, who lives near Helston Community College, will be carrying the torch along Western Promenade Road when it arrives in Penzance from Newlyn.

Becci, who runs Zumba fitness classes in the Lizard Peninsula area, said: “It's suddenly starting to really sink in now. It's like, 'Oh my God, this is really a massive thing'.”

She received her official Olympic branded tracksuit last Thursday and has to be in Penzance at 5.45am for a briefing, despite the torch not arriving until 8.20am.

Becci, 33, was nominated without her knowledge by friend Emma Morgan from Penzance.

When Becci initially received an email saying she was through to the next stage of the selection process, she initially thought it was junk mail and deleted it. It was not until she found an answer-phone message telling her she had two days left to respond that Becci realised it was serious.

“Emma just said, 'You do so much for people and you deserve to be recognised.' I do what I do because I love it and don't seek praise. It was very humbling,” said Becci, who nevertheless was delighted to be chosen.

Becci runs Dance Confidence Cornwall, sharing her experiences of building confidence through learning to dance, as well as working with disabled people.

Her friend Emma said: “I'm not surprised she was picked. She's been an amazing inspiration to those of us who have worked with her or gone to her classes, and she's a great role model for the children she teaches.”

Becci is no stranger to getting through selection-stage processes, as she was part of Flava, the Cornish street-dance troupe that got all the way to the live semi finals of Britain's Got Talent in 2008.