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Arlene Phillips Expresses Resentment Toward BBC for Their Handling of Her Strictly Come Dancing Departure

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Arlene Phillips has slammed the BBC and admitted to feeling “resentment” over her departure from Strictly Come Dancing in 2009. The former judge joined the dance competition in 2004 as part of the original line-up.

However, five years later she was replaced by Alesha Dixon, who was 35 years her junior. In an interview with The Guardian, Arlene has revisited her exit and said that it “knocked her confidence”.

“More than knocking my confidence, I think it swirled around me, and I thought, ‘I need to find myself.’ I needed all the mental preparation that I could muster to go, ‘Hang on a minute – you had a big career before this and you’ve got work lined up,’” she said.

She added: “I was a grownup when I did that show, so I resent that the BBC didn’t come to me as soon as they had the thought.” Arlene maintains that she doesn’t know why she was replaced on Strictly.

At the time of her departure, Labour minister Harriet Harman brought up in parliament that the reason was ageism. The BBC have previously denied that this was the case, but it continued to be a national topic of interest.

In an interview with The Times in 2022, Arlene also said: “I never really got an answer. They said, ‘You’re on a one-year contract and we can let you go.’ I could never say it was about my age. But I could not say exactly why I was let go because I never really had an answer.

“The day before I found out this news via a phone call from a radio station asking would I talk about it — and I had no clue as to what they were talking about. You know, I thought it was nonsense. It was first thing in the morning.”

Arlene was part of the original line-up of judges when Strictly Come Dancing was launched in 2004. She worked alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli for five years.

Craig has continued to be a judge on Strictly since the show’s establishment. Other judges who have appeared on Strictly over the years include Darcey Bussell and Alesha Dixon.

The BBC dance competition is hosted by Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman and the next series is due to air later this year. Coronation Street actress Ellie Leah and Vito Coppola were crowned the winners of the 2023 series.

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Source: NewsFinale

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