Strictly Come Dancing: Arlene Phillips slams BBC’s ‘poor handling’ of exit as she launches investigation

In 2009, Phillips was controversially dumped from the series in favour of Alesha Dixon, a former contestant 35 years her junior

Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips has slammed the BBC for the “poor handling” of her departure from the series, after revealing she has launched a probe into the circumstances behind her exit.

Phillips, a revered choreographer and theatre director, was controversially dropped from the show’s judging line-up in 2009. While the rest of the cast remained the same, Phillips was removed in favour of Alesha Dixon, a former contestant on the show who is 35 years her junior.

Despite criticism by Phillips and MPs, the BBC denied that the move was motivated by age discrimination.

Speaking on the Sod’s Law podcast, Phillips revealed that she was still trying to unearth the truth about her dismissal and had sought evidence regarding her exit via the Freedom of Information act.

“I’ve got the Freedom of Information and looking at the chaotic way that led up to it was shocking,” she said. “Most is redacted. There’s some information there and even that’s chaotic, let alone what was redacted from the report.”

As the BBC is a public authority, members of the public can access information on how it is and has been run.

Phillips added that she still believes the BBC should have better explained to her why she was no longer invited to work on the series.

"Nowadays, they could have given me the chance to resign or build a story around it,” she said. “I didn’t have a contract that automatically rolled on to the next year, but I think it was handled so poorly. You then never forget those moments of turmoil.”

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Brendan Cole last week revealed that the show is “hideous” when dancers and their celebrity partners do not get on.