Former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips has hit back after she was axed from the show.
Between 2004 and 2008, dancer and choreographer Arlene served as a judge on the hit BBC show alongside Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood, and Bruno Tonioli.
However, before the seventh series kicked off, Arlene was kicked off the show and replaced by another female judge.
Strictly star Arlene Phillips opens up about show’s axing
In 2009, Arlene did not return to Strictly after bosses did not renew her contract. Instead, she was replaced by former Mis-Teeq star Alesha Dixon, whom Arlene had seen win the show in 2007.
Alesha remained on the show until 2011 and was later replaced by Darcey Bussell.
At the time of Arlene’s axe, the press noted that she, who at the time was 66, had been replaced by a much younger woman. Alesha was 30 when she joined the show as a judge.
However, all the male judges, who were aged between 44 and 65, kept their jobs.
In a new interview with The i Paper, Arlene reflected on the change. “I guess I… I didn’t notice it that much at the time,” she said, adding: “I wrapped myself in my world and got on with life.”
While she refused to comment much further on the topic, Arlene declared people approach her “all the time to say, ‘You should never have gone!'”
Arlene talks Strictly return
While speaking to Express at the Pride of Britain Awards last year, Arlene said she “loved being on Strictly“.
“It’s very dear to my heart that I was there right from the start,” she admitted.
When asked if she would ever consider returning to the panel, Arlene insisted: “They would never ask me so I would never think about it. It’s not even an option.”
Read more: Dame Arlene Phillips fans congratulate her as she has the last laugh after brutal Strictly axe
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