‘I want a big 80th birthday PARTY!’

While she may be thinking about how to celebrate her 80th birthday next year, former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips doesn’t plan on retiring any time soon. The choreographer to the stars, who’s worked with everyone from Freddie Mercury to Diana Ross in a showbiz career that has spanned the past five decades, is busier than ever.

As catches up with Arlene, she’s revelling in the, the latest production she directed with the help of fellow dancer Oti Mabuse, who choreographed it. ‘She’s a real force to be reckoned with,’ Arlene, who was made a Dame last year, says of Oti, who made the decision to leave this year. ‘I enjoyed it. It was a full week of rehearsal, we were working night and day, we were really thrown together.’