I think it is terrible. Nothing against Alesha, I like her but the panel of judges should be professionals in their field. If I was one of the pro dancers and Alesha was criticising me I would be fuming .... what right has she as an amateur to do that

I am really annoyed at the BBC for this choice. At least Darcey is a professional.

Great news.
Now there's a reason for men to watch.

i really liked alesha on strictly when she was dancing with matt or when she was performing her song "the boy does nothing". but i think this a mistake for alesha to be a judge on strictly are the bbc bosses crazy replacing arlene with someone who has only been on strictly for one serie and a celebrity, if the bbc really needed the judging panel to be shaking up why didn't they get a professional dancers to do it, i would like to see karen hardy on the panel, i'm not a great fan of karen dances on the show but i think she would be great.

Yes Darcey was a professional, but a professional ballet dancer !!! thats a bit like saying that a professional footballer would make a good rugby referee....different disciplines . None of Darcey's background involved footwork similar to ballroom or latin, I think she is a good choice and also think Alesha is a good choice as she will bring a new dimension to the panel, she has experience that the other judges lack, i.e Performing on the show and dealing with the pressure of trying to master a completely new dance every week. it's easy for Len and Co to criticise when they have spent most of their lives dancing, but to actually dance every week in front of 9 or 10 million viewers with a weeks worth of training is quite another thing altogether.

I just don't know what the hell they think they're up to There was nothing wrong with the format the way it was so why change it?

I'm not in favour of having someone like Alesha on the panel because she just does not know enough about dance to be able to give a well thought out and knowledgeable critique. The only way she CAN judge it is as an ex-contestant so she may end up over empathising and therefore marking this years celebs far too high. And as for that laugh ... ugh! I also can't imagine that the Pro Dancers are happy with this decision! There may be some fireworks if they consider that Alesha is overstepping the mark.

Time will tell I suppose but I hope that the BBC haven't ruined one of my favourite programmes. And I for one shall miss Arlene

I'm appalled tbh.

'Tis a sad day when looks rule over knowledge on the BBC

Eh? You mean that all those gorgeous, quite often scantily clad female Professional Dancers and celebrities weren't a great reason to watch for a man to watch?

The BBC have done it again. Obviously experience means nothing when a woman ages. Good grief, we had the newscasters being discarded like old tissues once they past 50 and they totally ignored the reaction to that from the public. It seems it is quite acceptable in our society to have an 80 year old presenter with a co-presenter old enough to be his grand-daughter!! Now we have on the panel a 30 year old surrounded by Old Age Pensioners who are OK to the producers of the show because they happen to be MEN. I think after the fiasco with John Sergeant last year and the awful comments from the Judges (who seemed to think the show was about THEM and not the contestants and that it was a dance competition!!!!!!!! urging the public NOT to VOTE for John etc). I think the whole lot of them should have been replaced not just Arlene. I like Alesha but I think she has shot herself in the foot by taking this job and accepting the fact that she is replacing an older woman.

Bit mistake from the BBC for me.....

Even looking at the previous contestants (which are bad ideas as judges in itself) Alesha would not be my first choice. She's too nice, too bubbly, and not really 'tough' enough to be a judge. If I was picky a prior contestant to be a judge, someone like Jill Halfpenny, or Mark Ramps would be better.

Whats going to happen if she says something which a professional disagrees with...what if Brendon or James Jordan have a go at her? The other judges can stand up for themselves, but I don't think alesha would.

I'm a big fan of Alesha but I'm still disappointed by this news. She's great, but a judge? No way. Simply from the POV of potential backlash I am just going "no!" I think this could be a poisoned chalice, much as I can understand her desire to be part of the show: I hope she proves me wrong, I really do.

It's ridiculous.

There was nothing wrong with Arlene, nothing at all.

The show will lose it's credibility in my opinion.

I will reserve judgement until I actually see her judge which seems only fair.

Exactly what I was thinking!


If the price of Arlene leaving is having Alesha, then I can live with that. At least a huge amount of blatant favouritism will disappear.

Just need to replace Bruno and I'll be a happier bunny.

Nothing against Alesha, but I don't think she is qualified to judge this competion. She would have been fine as a co-presenter with Bruce, but not a judge. What really worries me is that this choice suggests the way the BBC are thinking about this show; moving away from a competition based on dance ability to some kind of popularity contest. The whole John Sergeant episode last season was a mess from which the show needs to recover. I worry that Alesha's new role will make this less likely, and one of my favourite programmes will be lost.

I like Alesha, and wasn't the biggest Arlene fan, but this is a stupid decision.

You not telling me the BBC couldn't find somebody with some judging experience if they wanted to replace Arlene.

The BBC execs have been watching too much X Factor.

Well I suppose It could have been worse.




It could have been Coleen Nolan

I Completely agree.
Alesha is fantastic at what she does best, sing, dance and be an entertainer and I am fan of her music and her as a person, but I think the Beeb have made a huge BIG mistake in giving her this position as a judge, especially over Arlene who along with Craig gives their most honest (if harsh at times) critique on what they see. How can Alesha compete with Arlene's years of knowledge of dance and choreography? Can Alesha be brutally honest in her critique, or will it be sugar coated with niceness? I say bring back Arlene, she knew what she was talking about.

Alesha as a judge - NO WAY
Alesha as mentor - YES that would work, advise and support the celebrity, because she has been there herself.
Alesha a regular slot on ITT - YES that's fine along with Claudia discussing the weekends events.

Also apparently Alesha has had to reschedule her Saturday Tour Dates to alternate nights of the week, to fit Strictly in?
I thought Alesha would've wanted to give more priority to her singing career, as she struggled with it before joining Strictly as a contestant.

I thoiught I'd be happy but I'm not. Arlene had to go as she was frankly embarrasing at times but to replace her with an ex contestant is very sad indeed. IUf they'd replaced her with Camilla people would have lived with it but I can see alot of people objecting to her presence on the panel. And, quite right too.

I like the way you're looking on the bright side Fliss

Only way to look at, it must be given a chance, if it doesn't work then complain.

I'm a big Alesha fan so I'll reserve judgement on her input into the new series.

I will miss Arlene though , I thought she was a great judge.

Alesha Dixon is awful.

I wonder if Arlene Phillips wanted a pay rise and was refused and she threatened to quit the show or got the sack? I'm surprised the show makers would replace her with someone like Alesha Dixon with no professional background in dance. Last year all four judges threatened to pull out in protest over their fees and they got a pay rise:


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbi...pay/article.do

...so I wonder if contract negotiatons broke down and Arlene quit or was fired. I'm not saying this happened, just offering another potential reason why she was replaced with Alesha Dixon. It was reported many presenters on BBC have had wage cuts due to the credit crunch so you never know, perhaps there's more to it than just finding a younger person to appeal to the viewers!

It's possible but I doubt it... It still doesn't answer the question of why another dance pro wasn't asked. Also, there was an article in the Daily Star (yes I know ) suggesting that Alesha would be paid 100k for the job. It's probably nonsense but if it turns out to be true any grief there is about the situation now will be like a picnic in comparison.

I'm not a fan of Arlene, but it's a good point you make about older women on TV. The BBC are very open to criticism on this one.

I recall, however, that Arlene was one of the most vocal critics of John Sergeant last year outside of the show itself, and besides I don't think she had her best series of Strictly last year generally. But all of the judges were culpable in antagonising large sections of the public over JS. I think after the whole fiasco it was inevitable that there'd be a shake up, in which case, sadly, Arlene as the 'older woman' was always going to be vulnerable for the chop. Of course, there may be other reasons behind the decision we don't know about.

As for Alesha taking Arlene's place - this really doesn't bode well for the show. It has all the hallmarks of a 'dumbing down' manoeuvre. I like Alesha and she was a great contestant, but I really think if the panel is going to be changed then the producers really need to sign up a dance professional whose expertise we can trust rather than a celeb for the job.