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Arlene Phillips has opened up about her ‘tough’ departure from Strictly Come Dancing and the accusations of bullying on the show.
The former judge, now 82, was replaced with a then 30-year-old Alesha Dixon in 2009 with no explanation, despite having decades of experience as a dancer and choreographer.
The BBC was subsequently accused of ageism after Arlene, who rose to fame with the dance troupe Hot Gossip in the 1970s, found out she had been axed on the radio instead of being approached directly.
The controversy surrounding the long-running TV staple was amped up a gear in 2023 when Amanda Abbington, 51, accused her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice, 34, of bullying.
Arelene told The Sunday Times: ‘I loved my time on Strictly and it was tough when I left, but I got up and carried on with life.
‘I wasn’t there when accusations of bullying were made against some of the dancers, but I was quite strict when I started teaching.’
Arlene, who had two children at ages 18 and 47, explained that her offspring taught her how to communicate without losing her temper.
She said: ‘I realised there was a different way to talk to people when I had a child – I didn’t want to lose my temper.
‘There are ways to get people to do as you want without shouting.’
Arlene, who most recently worked as a choreographer on Guys and Dolls, made the revelations in a new interview when she reflects on her life a decade and a half after her Strictly departure.
Describing her granddaughters as the biggest joy in her life now, she said that when her mother passed away when she was just 15, she quickly learned that she had to fight for the life she wanted.
Arlene said the best piece of advice she has ever been given is to ‘think carefully about what you say and do to others.’
Her comments come after the accusations against Giovanni were partially upheld and others came forward to share similar stories that painted a picture of a toxic working environment on Strictly.
Giovanni later admitted that while he is a strict teacher, he is not a bully, telling ITV’s Lorraine in September: ‘Bully is a big word and there’s a difference between being a bully and caring about what you do.’
After six months of investigating the Sherlock actress’ claims after she previously branded Giovanni ‘abusive, cruel and mean’, in September, the BBC announced that they did not find him physically abusive, but upheld some claims of verbal bullying and harassment and did issue an apology to Amanda.
Out of 17 complaints, they upheld six, some of which are for Giovanni using swear words. The report says that his language could be ‘belittling.’ Sources say they found ‘instances of it.’
The BBC also agreed with Amanda that at times he appeared to be giving her overly negative feedback.
It also concluded that there were two moments of ‘inappropriate behaviour of sexual banter in the workplace’ which were found to be made and received as jokes, humour and compliments of Amanda’s dancing. The review has found this was a two-way, consensual way of talking and behaving.
However, her complaint that he sent her a video on WhatsApp which she deemed to be inappropriate was also not upheld. The BBC did not find anything sexually inappropriate either.
Arlene claims to this day that the broadcaster has still never given her a reason for axing her from the show.
