Arlene Phillips is back in the judging seat
Arlene Phillips has made a return to television as a judge on the BBC show So You Think You Can Dance. Philips sparked outrage when she was sacked from the Strictly Come Dancing panel and replaced by Alesha Dixon last year. Many fans of the show saw the removal of the sixty-six-year-old as an act of ageism by the BBC.
The show which is already a massive hit in America is hosted by Cat Deeley who is also the host on the other side of the Atlantic. Each week contestants are asked to perform a different routine in a different dance style after working with a coach and mentor. Members of the public are asked to vote for their favourite act after each show has been aired. This weekend saw judges Nigel Lythgoe and Louise Redknapp as well as Arlene Phillips picking their favourite 100 contestants during the audition stage of the show. The three then had to decide on the final 14 dancers who will go head to head each week in an attempt to be crowned Britain’s Favourite Dancer. The winner of the show will also be awarded £100,000 and be offered the opportunity of performing on the show’s American cousin.
The show has already created stars in the U.S. and a number of critics have said that they think the format should see it do better than Strictly Come Dancing which may have started to become a little jaded in the eyes of the viewing public.
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One Response to “Arlene Phillips is back in the judging seat”
Well I watched So you think you can Dance on Saturday and as as replacement for Strictly Come Dancing I don’t think so. Firstly the dancing is aimed at the younger set, which is fine but if the BBC is seriously considering putting this up against the X Factor then they should think again. Young people may prefer this kind of dance but they would still prefer to watch the X Factor (I asked my 21 year old daughter and her friends and they all agreed) and therefore the BBC would not only not gain the younger audience with this kind of dancing they would lose most of the Strictly Come Dancing audience base.
Secondly (it’s still too early to tell) but the thing I have enjoyed the most is the rapport (occasionally not!) with the professional dancers which simply would not occur hear. Please keep Strictly Come Dancing I agree it needs some changes (primarily prehaps Bruce’s retirement, his replacement would obviously need some careful consideration) but most of us +35 viewers would really miss Strictly Come Dancing and this (so far) is no way near a contender to replace it.