Arlene sorry to see Brendan go

FORMER Strictly judge Arlene Phillips has hit out at the BBC for the way Brendan Cole was unceremoniously dispatched from Strictly, although she still believes it was preferable to how the corporation got rid of her.

Arlene, who first found out that she had been replaced on the judging panel by Alesha Dixon, 39, in 2009, on the radio, tells Day & Night of the New Zealander’s recent sacking from the show: “Ruthless! It is a very blunt ending for Brendan.

“I did not even get a phone call. I found out on Radio 5 Live. It is not the way to do it. It is like somebody walking in and saying, ‘We are divorcing. That’s it. Over.’”

The choreographer also believes it will be hard for Brendan, 41, to ever completely come to terms with being dismissed.

“Strictly becomes a part of your life, then all of a sudden it is like you are not invited to the party. The pain never goes away. With Brendan, he felt that connection.

“He will find that you are constantly reminded as you walk anywhere like I am in John Lewis shopping and people say, ‘Oh, I recognise your voice.’

“You never get away from it. And then you think: ‘Gosh, that is who I was.’ But I had to move on as a grown-up,” adds the 74-year-old.

Brendan, who had been with Strictly since 2004, earned the nickname the Ballroom Badboy owing to his run-ins with the judges.