Entertainment
Strictly Come Dancing star Arlene Phillips to receive Damehood in Queen’s Birthday Honours
Strictly Come Dancing star Arlene Phillips is reportedly set to receive a Damehood.
The 78-year-old is expected to feature in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, which will be announced later this month.
According to The Sun, Phillips will be awarded for her ‘distinguished career in dance’.
A friend of the star told the publication: ‘She’s a showbiz superstar whose nifty footwork and personality has helped to get the nation off their sofas and on to the dance floor.
‘I bet she’ll do a little jig to celebrate. Nobody deserves this more than Arlene.’
The performer rose to prominence as the director and choreographer of Hot Gossip, a famed British dance troupe in the 1970s which regularly featured on Kenny Everett’s primetime TV shows.
She has choreographed some of the biggest West End and Broadway productions, such as The Wizard of Oz, Flashdance, The Sound Of Music, Grease, Saturday Night Fever and We Will Rock You.
Phillips also worked on the choreography for the 1982 children’s classic movie Annie as well as music videos, including Duran Duran’s The Wild Boys.
In 2004, she became a judge on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing becoming even more of a household name. Phillips was a hit with viewers but was sensationally replaced in 2009 by Alesha Dixon sparking an ageism row.
The row even reached Parliament where Women’s Minister Harriet Harman called for her reinstatement in the Commons.
Previously addressing the controversy, Phillips said: ‘As a woman I should’ve thought about it, 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.’
In 2013, Phillips was appointed a CBE in the New Year Honours for services to dance and charity.
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