Shortly after her 80th birthday, Dame Arlene Phillips turned heads during an episode of Loose Women by speaking openly about how it felt to reach the landmark age.
She’ll turn 82 in a few weeks’ time, but age hasn’t held her back. Arlene Phillips – on Celebration Kitchen: Passover this Sunday (April 6) – just keeps bounding on!
In 2022, she joined ITV’s Dancing On Ice as a guest judge for Musicals week. And, last year, she joined Toys, the musical, as the executive co-producer.
Moreover, late last year, she hinted that she would be returning to Strictly Come Dancing, from which she was axed in 2009 amid speculation the decision had something to do with her age.
Arlene Phillips tells of ‘shock’ on 80th birthday
On her 80th birthday, which was back in 2023, Arlene woke up “virtually in shock”.
It was the “most extraordinary thing”, she said. She appeared on an episode of Loose Women a day or two later. Her family had joined her to celebrate her birthday.
“All I could think about was, actually 80 – it’s getting close to not being here. But something happened and I went: ‘Okay, you’ve got to breathe and sort of plan what you want to do!'”
Aside from that, it had been a marvellous day of celebrations.
“It was all the generations from old me to right down to the little granddaughters and actually the grandnephews too, so it was fabulous,” she said.
But waking up in shock was new to her.
“Everybody talks about my age,” she said. “Always has done. And I’ve just bounded on. But you know,” she continued, “it doesn’t matter how old you are it’s what you feel inside.”
She hasn’t forgiven the BBC for replacing her with Alesha Dixon on Strictly
Arlene has choreographed everything from West End musicals to the Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies.
She was a member of the inaugural judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing, and remained on the show until 2008.
After the 2008 series ended, the BBC announced that it would be making some changes to the show for the year ahead. The following summer, it revealed it would be replacing Arlene Phillips with Alesha Dixon, who had won the show in 2007.
A decade and a half later, Phillips told the Mirror she still hadn’t forgiven the producers of the show for hiring Dixon in her place.
“Yes, I have moved on,” she said. “I suppose it is something to rejoice, and I can always remind myself, I was there at the pilot, when nobody ever thought this show was going to be a show.”
She has “accepted but not forgiven” the show, she added. But she nevertheless takes pride in being its first female judge, noting: “There’s a lot of accolades I could give myself.”
Celebration Kitchen: Passover airs at 11:30am on Sunday, April 6 on BBC One.
Read more: All the stars who’ve been axed from Strictly – and the real reasons why
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