Arlene Phillips wasn’t shy to tell it how it is when the Mirror caught up with her at the Make-A-Wish charity’s annual ball, as she talked Strictly and its new co-hosts
FORMER Strictly judge Arlene Phillips has been less than complimentary about one of the stars in contention to host the sparkly BBC dance show, come September.
Discussing the names in the hat for telly’s biggest primetime job on BBC1, she quipped, ‘It should be me, of course! It’s all about me!”, before bringing up flame-haired Irish presenter and Strictly 2023 contestant, Angela Scanlon.
“Angela Scanlon, she’d be good – but she can get a little irritating, at times!” the choreographer told the Mirror. Speaking at children’s charity Make-A-Wish UK’s annual ball at London’s Savoy Hotel, the sprightly 82-year-old didn’t seem keen on some of the other big names thought to be in the running either.
“Yes, I’ve heard about Rylan, Zoe Ball, Emma Wills… And look, I’m sure they’d all be great, absolutely brilliant at it – but I do wish they would come up with something new, not just go with the same names. Find someone else, from… anywhere!”
Dame Arlene was a judge on Strictly from its inception in 2004 until 2008, alongside Craig Revel Horwood and the late Len Goodman.
Then 66, her axing from the show and subsequent replacement by singer and now-BGT judge Alesha Dixon sparked controversy at the time that it was to do with her age.
Reports suggest that auditions are currently taking place to find new hosts – and professional dancers – for the next series, following Tess and Claudia’s departure and the controversial ‘axings’ of much-loved pros such as Nadia Bychkova and Karen Hauer.
Arlene, well-known for her work in musical theatre, was also in the jungle in 2021, at 78 making history as the oldest contestant in the show’s history.
And though she said she normally watches I’m A Celebrity… , she’s been ‘far too busy’ with various work projects to catch up on this year’s All Star’s series in South Africa, which came to a dramatic end last night
Her own stint, at Gwrych Castle in Wales, was short-lived as she was the first to be eliminated.
She said, “I did the jungle with Richard Madeley. Oh, I love Richard! He was my lifesaver there. He was my friend, I was so upset when he fell sick and had to go. I missed him terribly.”
Arlene said she went into the jungle for two reasons. The first, to fight her fear of creeply-crawlies.
“One of my grandchildren was playing in the garden one day, and I went over and saw her. She was like, “Grandma, I think the spiders have a home here.” And I hate spiders. I was backing away, and I thought, you know what, maybe I’ll do the jungle and fight that fear..
Another motivation, she explained, was mentoring a young woman who led her to changing her outlook entirely.
“I was mentoring this beautiful girl who had cancer, who was very young and so brave and so fearless. I felt ashamed of myself that I was scared of doing a show.
“So I did it, I took the plunge. And I achieved what I wanted, because there were snakes all over me and I was calm as can be. And I’m not a calm person, as you can see!”
Arlene was speaking to the Mirror at Make-A-Wish UK’s annual ball, A Night of Wishes, helping raise money for children around the UK facing critical illness. See www.make-a-wish.org.uk .
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