'It's my work that keeps me young!'

Choreographer and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Dame Arlene Phillips on ageing, loss and friendship

- SARAH ROBERTSON

It's hard to believe that Dame Arlene Phillips has turned 80.

Once dubbed the 'Queen of Mean' for her plain-speaking, no-nonsense comments when a judge on BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing, Arlene has survived COVID, a stint in the freezing Welsh countryside on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and, most recently, the loss of her good friend Len Goodman.

But choreographer of the dance troupe Hot Gossip, Arlene is still as sprightly and full of verve as when she took the Strictly seat in 2004. So, what's her secret - is it the surgeon's knife or a special diet and vitamin regime that gives her that wonderful glow?

'Everybody tells me how well I look and, to be honest, I haven't done anything to my face, I've just had a little spot of Profhilo [an injectable skin treatment] almost two years ago.

'I look after my skin. I take vitamin D. If I go out I pop on Chanel Le Lift and I have some skincare. My daughter is a make-up artist and she said, "Mum, you have to take every scrap of make-up off at night for your skin to breathe,' so I'm not afraid of soap and water.