Arlene Phillips on ‘love-hate’ relationship with dance
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In Strictly Come Dancing tradition, the cast and crew head up north for one week to perform at Blackpool’s iconic Tower Ballroom. Arlene Phillips, 79, has said that during the earlier stages of the show when she was a judge, it was “not quite the glamour it is now”.
Elaborating, Arlene said she remembered being put up in a “promenade hotel” which was “neither very clean nor nice”.
“We could not believe it, we came to Blackpool and we were staying in a less than three star hotel.
“We laughed about it forever after but it was cold and horrible. That was with strictly – the very first time.
“They changed our hotel after that but we were like ‘what is this going to be like?’ There was nothing like the way it is now,” she told the Daily Star online.
The professional dancer said the show has since grown “in every way” and is “great to watch”.
One change she has picked up on over the years is the amount of time the judges get to critique.
She added: “When I was there I felt like we were pushed and rushed. Maybe the show didn’t have the time that it has now – it’s almost two hours now.
“Maybe we didn’t have that time but I never felt that there were ages for each person to talk but I could be wrong.”
Arlene insisted she isn’t a big fan of the talking after dances in Claudia Winkleman’s corner as she believes “it should happen much faster”.
“I could be dreaming but it never seemed that long. But once they’ve been and done I really want to get on to the next dance,” she added.
Arlene was one of the original judges on the panel alongside; Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli.
She has previously claimed she was booted off Strictly after five years without being warned.
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Her exit at the time sparked an ageism and sexism row, as her three male colleagues stayed on the show.
She was also succeeded by 2007 winner Alesha Dixon, who was 31 at the time.
Over a decade after her exit, Arlene recently said she wished she “demanded” more answers from producers.
She spilled: “As a woman I should’ve thought about it. I should’ve demanded why the woman had gone, and three men remained.
“I should have asked them to analyse it. I should have had the strength to at least ask for reasons and if not getting the reasons, a damn well apology.
“But I didn’t have the strength, I didn’t have the will. I was pathetic,” she added on Natalie Anderson’s podcast The Capsule: In Conversation.
Arlene went on to say she was “in a dark place” after learning she had been replaced.
The BBC has always denied that ageism played any role in her departure.
The current judging line-up consists of long-term judge Craig, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
Strictly Come Dancing: Blackpool Special continues tomorrow at 7.45pm on BBC One.
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