Ex-Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips is today to be announced as a “dance champion” for the UK by the government.
Personally I think it’s great, not only for the nation as a whole to be encouraged to get off its collective lazy arse, but also for Phillips, who in tabloid-speak was “dumped” “axed” and “given the boot” from the spangly show, not for her dreadful puns, but because, it seems, she was the only older woman on the panel. I once saw Arlene in the glitzy environs of the Ladies at a posh London hotel and I thought she looked great—glamorous and healthy and fit—and I think if anyone could be an advocate for dance it should be her.