STRICTLY legend Arlene Phillips has given her verdict on why Fleur East keeps landing in the bottom two.
The choreographer – who was a judge on the BBC One dancing competition from 2004 to 2009 – said the chosen dances could be the reason she keeps appearing in the dance-off, saying that Fleur, 35, excels in some dances, but “struggles” with others.
Arlene, 79, explained that the former X Factor star has every chance of lifting the glitterball trophy and advised her to continue to bring the dance alive.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun about Fleur being in the bottom two again, Arlene said: “I think it’s her chosen dances, some dances she’s really great at and some she struggles.
“Fleur has done some dancing in the past but it’s commercial dance, it’s not Ballroom or Latin, they are very different animals the dance they are given.
“It will be lovely to see her make the final three.”
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West End legend Arlene continued: “She just needs to listen to her partner, do everything they ask and when you get out there on the floor, live the dance, tell the story of the dance and just be believable.
“It’s all about footwork and making sure your feet is loving the floor because if they don’t, they won’t connect to the floor.”
Arlene has also had her say after head judge Shirley Ballas, 62, was accused of using preferential treatment on the show.
The championship dancer, who has been on the panel since 2017, had come under fire over the last few weeks as fans believe she’s ‘favouritising’ male celebrities over their female counterparts.
Defending head judge Shirley, Arlene said: “There are always dancers who you connect with or connect to, because you see something in them, or you can see they can go further.
“Or over the weeks you are watching them and think that they are not going to go further because of a technical thing.
“The thing is, judges see more than the audience see, so often it isn’t a personal thing ‘like, I don’t like you’ or ‘you bother me’, someone comes along, and it sets a fire off in you.
“For everyone it’s a competition and it means that those scores should be given for perfect technique, skills, performance – how do you share out those finite numbers.
“Everyone feels and see somethings different, when you’re sitting on the judging panel, sometimes you’re drawn to people but the following week, something that you saw in one week may go in the next.”
Arlene, who has teamed up with Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day Campaign, continued: “It’s so easy to be hurt and damaged, and to feel rejected.
“The awful part of being in any form of showbuisness is rejection comes along so many times and you have to be so tough inside, you have to be able to hold your nerve, believe in yourself and say ‘ok i can go on’.
“Plus, whatever you have learnt on Strictly is a gift, you have the best pros, best choreographers teaching you new skills, take that away because you had a lesson you never expected to have in your life.”
As the competition draws closer to the final, Arlene admitted that she has no idea who will land a place in the final.
“It’s a very exciting competition this year, I love Hamza, I love Molly and Fleur and Kim,” she said.
“The thing about this year, that leaderboard has been hopping around, so I think it’s anyone’s guess this year.
“It’s who gives the best performance on the night, they all have something to offer but I’ve never known a competition who I’m not even sure who the final three will be, it depends what they do on Musicals Week.
“I can’t remember when there was just three people always in the lead.”
“I thought Tyler [West] might have gone further, but it’s a tough show, it’s a tough learning process while everyone has the same amount of time to learn and practice, some people have danced before, some haven’t, but that’s what’s great about it.”
Arlene Phillips is supporting Save the Children’s Annual Christmas Jumper Day taking place on Thursday 8th December 2022.
The TV favourite said: “Save the Children does so much to help children all over the world, if we don’t have the support like these charities, we would have a lot more children suffering than we do now.
“This Christmas Jumper campaign is not just about wearing a jumper but it’s about searching for vintage, charity shop jumpers and passing jumpers around.
“I started about 12 years ago, I’m totally committed to charity, I grew up with poverty, we got spending money from aunts and uncles and some of it would go into the charity box.
“I’ve grown up with the opportunity to help others and I feel very lucky that I reached a point where my voice can help someone to escape poverty by really shouting out about charities.”
Since launching a decade ago, Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day has raised over £30 million to help transform the lives of children around the world.
Now, the campaign is set to reach twice as many children as before, thanks to the Government’s Aid Match funding which will double every donation up to £2 million. To sign up, visit link here.
