IN THE RUNNING? Arlene Phillips keeps coy when asked who will replace Len Goodman on Strictly Come Dancing
She told Loose Women only the BBC can decide his successor
ARLENE Phillips kept today coy when asked who she thinks who should replace Len Goodman on Strictly Come Dancing.
The choreographer returned to the Loose Women panel today as was chatting to the ladies - Coleen Nolan, Jamelia and Andrea McLean - about her current projects.
And when Andrea asked her who she thought would be joining the BBC One show's panel, she said: "In the end, the BBC will decide who they want."
The next series of Strictly will be Len's last after 12 years on the panel and Arlene has been tipped to make a comeback and replace Len on the show, despite being dropped from the panel in 2009 and replaced by a former winner of the show, Alesha Dixon.
But she said she needs to be careful of what she says in regards to the programme as she has been misquoted before.
She explained: "I was in Vegas on the opening night of Love, an amazing show there, and all the American reporters were asking about my work in Las Vegas.
"And then there was an English reporter who said, 'Hello Arlene, what do you think about Strictly and Len leaving and who do you think should go on the panel?'
"And I said, 'well, it's me of course', and I did it with a smile, and of course that became, 'I think I should go back', so I'm always very cautious about what I say."
But she said she would really like to be recognised as a choreographer in her own right and shake off the Strictly tag.
She added: "It is endless. I like to remind myself sometimes I'm Arlene Phillips the choreographer, the Loose Woman, as opposed to Arlene Phillips from Strictly.
Or, as I get on the tube I get, 'Oh, didn't you used to be Arlene Phillips?' No! I'm Arlene Phillips! 'You're from Strictly!' No, this is me! Because people still see me sitting behind a desk.
"But I've never made any secret of how much I loved doing that show, I'm passionate about the show, it's an amazing show."
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