Arlene Phillips gives honest verdict on Strictly return after ageism row

Arlene Phillips was one of the first judges to take up her seat on the judging panel for the BBC One show.

She joined the original line up of Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Len Goodman, but after just five years, she was axed and replaced with Alesha Dixon, who was 30 at the time.

The decision sparked uproar with viewers complaining to BBC and sharing outrage online, with the decision widely referred to as "ageism", though the BBC fiercely denied these claims.

Speaking to Express.co.uk at the Women of The Year Awards, Arlene made it clear that the decision to replace her still makes her sad, but she still holds a place in her heart for Strictly Come Dancing. She said: "I still love Strictly, it's an amazing show. It was a really, really big thing in my life.

"I feel sad about the way it all ended, but in my own life I've had to find my way through things that upset me, and unbalanced me, so I found my way through it."

But when asked if she would ever return to the show, Arlene laughed and said: "They'll never ask me back. If I could dream, then 100% I would be there giving my opinion.

"It won't always be the same opinion as the other judges, but that's why it's an opinion."

During her time on the show she regularly voiced her opinions along with the other judges, and while people didn't always agree with her, she was certainly a much-loved member of the panel, prior to her exit in 2009.

Arlene previously explained that she had discovered that she was no longer a judge via the radio, previously saying that she resented that the BBC didn't come to her when they had the thought to replace her.

Speaking previously on Natalie Anderson's podcast The Capsule: In Conversation, she said: "As a woman I should've demanded why the woman had gone, and three men remain. I should have asked them to analyse it. I should have had the strength to at least ask for reasons and if not getting the reasons, a damn well apology."

But she added: "I didn't have the strength, I didn't have the will. I was pathetic." She said she was in a "very, very bad place" after the BBC's decision, particularly as her manager and close friend died the day prior.

She said at the time: "I was being hit by grief, having no agent or manager to deal with the fall out from Strictly, having not been told about it. I didn't realise for myself just quite how damaged I was."