Oh, how we’ll miss her... and those tense two-steps with rival Shirley

When it comes to the celebrity competitors taking part in Strictly Come Dancing, their performances and talent can be as unpredictable as the British weather.

The judging panel, however, is another matter. Craig Revel horwood can always be relied upon for a cutting remark, a sour face and a low score. Bruno Tonioli jumps around like a jack-in-the-box and falls off his chair, while head judge Shirley Ballas peers over her glasses like a stern school mistress.

Then there’s Dame Darcey Bussell. Lovely, classy Darcey who only ever gave constructive criticism. never bitchy or personal, and always kind, every week she would dispatch even the most clod-hopping celebrities up the stairs to presenter Claudia Winkleman with words of encouragement.

When Alesha Dixon quit her role as a judge in 2012, the BBC had to tread carefully when it came to appointing her replacement. Dixon had replaced the axed choreographer Arlene Phillips, then 66, when she was 30, and the BBC found itself at the centre of an ageism row. It didn’t need a new scandal.

Darcey had been a guest judge in 2009, so when the vacancy arose in 2012, she was the obvious choice: articulate and, as one of the world’s most acclaimed ballerinas, she knew a thing or two about dancing — even if her background wasn’t in ballroom or Latin.

‘Some of you may have noticed there’s a new face on the panel,’ said Sir Bruce Forsyth when Darcey made her debut, adding: ‘That’s right, Craig has had some work done.’ It broke the ice for what was a shaky first week for her.

nerves got the better of her and she developed a grating speech tick where she said ‘yah’ after every sentence. As someone who had spent a great deal of time in Australia, she’d also got into the habit of inflecting her words to sound as though she was posing a list of endless questions.

But, from the off, Darcey was touchingly sweet to contestants. There was Johnny Ball who, at 74, was the oldest the show had ever had, and Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton who was forever in floods of tears over the fact she’d finally encountered something she wasn’t the best at.

Darcey proved nice doesn’t have to be dull as she passed on tips for poise, posture and performance. She told contestants to elongate their necks by imagining they were wearing a heavy necklace. And no one has better posture than Darcey — she made you want to sit up straight on the sofa at home instead of curling up with a takeaway.

All Strictly judges have their obsessions.

Craig has a thing about thumbs; Bruno has a thing about facial expressions; and Darcey had a thing about arms. She loved a long arm, an elegant arm, a ‘finished’ arm. She even gave us the word ‘armography.’

By 2015, Darcey had bedded in nicely and the BBC introduced the judges’ dancing entrance. While the men performed a few token twirls and shimmies, Darcey went to town and showed exactly why she was the Royal Ballet’s prima ballerina. She also left us wondering how it was possible to lift your leg that high and not pull something.

As her confidence grew, her fashion became more daring. Last year, she got a bit carried away as she made her entrance in a gown with a front split and accidentally flashed her knickers to the millions of viewers.

RUMOUR had it that the arrival of former ballroom pro Shirley Ballas in 2017 put Darcey’s nose out of joint — a claim she refuted, although, to viewers, there seemed to be tantalising signs of tension and awkward body language between the two women.

In her first week, a nervous Shirley got the name of a contestant wrong and Darcey appeared to laugh as Shirley tried to correct herself. Later that episode, Shirley sounded unnecessarily harsh when she said: ‘I have to disagree with my learned friend,’ in response to Darcey’s critique of a dance.

But Darcey insisted Shirley was ‘great to be with’ and suggested that, if they had been men, there would have been much less talk of ‘feuds’. By last year, the women seemed to have found some chemistry. Along with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman hosting, it felt great to have so many strong and capable women anchoring the BBC’s most successful entertainment programme.

Yesterday, social media was full of outpourings of love for Darcey. ‘What a woman, what a judge, what class. Strictly will miss you so much,’ said professional dancer Joanne Clifton, speaking for many. Rumours of Darcey’s replacement are already gathering pace, and whoever fills her dancing shoes will have a tough act to follow.

After seven years, Darcey’s time on Strictly can best be summed up by Craig Revel horwood’s favourite word: fab-u-lous!