‘WORKING IS MY PASSION... IT KEEPS ME ALIVE’
says Arlene Phillips
One thing is clear: Arlene Phillips rather likes being busy. She’s preparing to tour with her brand new musical show all about her own life story. She’s also planning the birthday celebrations for Starlight Express and relaunching a rock musical that she directed last year. When GH catches up with her, she becomes impassioned as she shares stories from the dizzyingly successful career in choreography that took her all over the world. Now 74, she got her first job doing a paper round at the age of 12 to help pay for dance classes. When she arrived in London, she found work as a dance teacher before setting up her own dance troupe, Hot Gossip. The success of the group led her to work with stars such as Duran Duran and Diana Ross before she landed a job on a certain dance show. But behind the sequins and glamour there have been hard times, too. Our cover star talks to GH about Strictly, being an older mother and the importance of a daily dance…
You seem to be working as hard as ever. What drives you?
Sometimes I ask myself: ‘Why don’t you stop?’ At my age, a lot of people are taking life easy or going on different kinds of adventures. But working is my passion and it keeps me alive. I love getting up in the morning and having to be here and there. It drives me – it’s where I get my energy.
Where does that work ethic come from?
I was driven in my dancing when I was young. I had quite a tough life. I felt my only way out of that was to work hard; to cast aside the life I had and project forward to what I could have. I found school quite hard. I wasn’t top of the class in a system that only admired those at the top of the class. I found that destructive. I wanted to find something I could be first at. I suppose that’s the only way I could feel any admiration. There was something inside me that wanted more than I was brought up to believe I could have.
Do you think that is a generational thing?
You can’t generalise, but I do feel younger generations believe they can obtain more for less in terms of actual slogging. If you’re in the arts, or anything that requires great discipline, the only way to achieve it is to put in the hours. I always say this to young people. The only way is to go through the pain, the hours, the constant repetition of one small exercise. That said, if you do have the ambition the work is extraordinary. This generation of elite dancers and sports stars is doing things you could never imagine was possible 30 years ago.
There was some controversy around your departure from Strictly when the BBC was accused of ageism. What was your take on what happened?
I’ve never really been given a real reason. I
YOUR AGE is the age YOU FEEL
don’t think I will ever know the answer. Certainly after Strictly I was in a very vulnerable situation. Prior to finding out that I was not going to be on the panel I had lost my manager of 30 years to cancer. I couldn’t think about fighting, I couldn’t think about losing a job. I was in despair and grief-stricken. I didn’t stand up or make my voice heard. I wasn’t in a place to be able to do that. But I have a 48-hour rule – it’s what I tell dancers and it’s what I tell my children – give yourself 48 hours to moan and groan, then just get up and get on with it.
Where did your love of dance come from?
Both my parents were passionate about dance. When we were young, my father took us to a concert. I saw ballet dancers for the first time and that was it. That was the image that I knew would have an important place in my life. I didn’t start until I was eight, but it was the only place I wanted to be. You could shake off the world that you lived in and put yourself in another world.
You were 15 when your mother died of leukaemia. How did you come through that time?
From the moment we knew she was ill she only had three months to live. It was really hard. I was very close to my mother, so she wanted me to stay at home and be with her. I can remember one day she asked me to stay with her and I had a dance class. I pleaded with her to let me go. I did, I went to that class. I don’t know that I will ever forgive myself. All I’ve ever done is try to put all the things that have hit me hard away somewhere and not let them out of their box.
Did going through something like that influence your approach to parenting?
I think so. All I’ve ever thought about was giving the girls the love my mother gave me. There is no one in the world who gave better hugs. With my mother’s arms around me, I felt safe. I’ve always wanted to give that to them. I probably loved them too much. I probably should have let them fly and become independent earlier than I did. I don’t know if you could call it controlling. I think I spoilt them because I wanted them to have all the things I didn’t have.
Did you experience any prejudice as an older mother?
The birth of Alana was one of the most joyous experiences of my life. When I had Abi it was a complete surprise. I was 47 years old and had got pregnant naturally. I thought I was having the menopause. It was a harder journey and a tougher time. [I was told] I was some kind of freak, that I would find it hard to bond with my baby when I could be the grandmother. I’m so vociferous if anybody says something to me that I find offensive. But I was so vulnerable. I let all these remarks go by with tears in my eyes. Nowadays, being an older mother is very common. When you let all those things go you see the absolute joy of having a baby when you’re older. You really do feel like you’ve been given a gift.
What can people expect from your new show, Arlene! The Glitz. The Glamour. The Gossip?
I think it’s going to be great fun – lots of wonderful, crazy stories about my life and my adventures. My career was like an express train. I went from babysitting for Ridley Scott to teaching and then creating Hot Gossip, who went all over the world. I made the film of Annie, choreographed Starlight Express and Saturday Night Fever, and worked on music videos with Duran Duran, Elton John and Freddie Mercury. It was a wonderful non-stop life.
What was it like during that time?
I call it a life in high heels. In the 1970s, I was bouncing around with just wonderful people. There was an excitement going on every day. There was a buzz in the air. Certainly life changed again by the early 1980s… I was like a butterfly, not being able to settle. I grew up when I met Angus [her partner and father of Abi]. I found someone who was witty and smart and everything I had ever been searching for.
Are your 70s looking the way you thought they would?
You have to be philosophical about growing older. One thing I discovered is I don’t care as much and I’m happy to make a fool of myself. Most of the other 70-somethings that I meet, unless they tell me their age, I wouldn’t know how old they are. Your age is the age you feel.
How do you stay fit and healthy?
I’m always on the go, never sitting still, and I love a good run up and down stairs. My favourite foods are celery, chicory, tomatoes and carrots, and I always carry some with me so I don’t fall into my ‘fat trap’ of cheese and chocolate. And my daily dance is a must.
What are you looking forward to?
I would love to be a grandmother. I can only imagine the joy that would bring. But as a woman who’s always done what she wanted, when she wanted, I want my daughters to do exactly the same.