When booking a fivestar hotel for New Year’s Eve, you might expect a bit of luxury and pampering.

But guests at the £500-a-night Fife Arms, in the Scottish Highlands, could hardly have imagined that they would be treated to an impromptu performance of Abba’s Waterloo by one of Britain’s most beloved actresses. Dame Judi Dench stunned guests when, after a fourcourse dinner and a few rounds of ceilidh dancing, she took to the piano in the hotel’s lobby alongside Sharleen Spiteri, the lead singer of rock band Texas.

Sitting side-by-side with Spiteri, the Oscar-winning actress provided backing vocals and piano accompaniment for the Abba hit while Spiteri sang the chorus, to the delight of the 100 or so onlookers. The performance was captured on film and later posted on Twitter by restaurateur and hotelier Ewan Venters.

At the end of the 23-second clip, Spiteri can be heard complimenting her musical partner, saying: “What a pianist!” Shortly before their performance, which happened at 11.45pm (local time) on Saturday, the pair enjoyed a luxury dinner of ham hock, scallops, beef Wellington and custard tart.

The Daily Telegraph