there something i dont like about her but i dont know what it is

She's got a fine track record behind her, and she's still remarkably active and successful for someone in their sixtieth year and in an incredibly competitive business. I thought she was treated very badly in Strictly Dance Fever, when the other judges seemed to gang up on her in a genuinely malevolent way each week. She hasn't been that consistent this series, though, and she often looks as though she's just swallowed a pint of lemon juice - so maybe it's that...

Sixtieth year!

Did I read that right?
She looks fantastic for her age - you must be kidding right?


I hav to say that yet another aspect of SCD that I love is the calibre of the judges. They have all been (and are still) successful and know of what they speak.

Arlene's 60? How is that possible? She looks amazing! What an advert for the power of dance if that's true!

Yes. A mere four and a bit years younger than Gloria. I think that shows why she was so keen to push the Hunniford to do more than walk around at a snail's pace while smiling regally.

Granted she does look good for her age.

Often though her comments are irrelevant to the dance. She constantly says things along the lines of not serious about the competition/not working hard enough/not putting in enough work and other throwaway comments which really are not true and nothing at all about the dance itself.

Its almost like when she doesn't have anything to say she grabs these oneliners to hear her own voice. I think she just votes in the middle of the others personally.

Craig is easier to understand if you listen to what he says on ITT. Where he can explain himself in more depth. It is obvious dance isn't just about ballroom and getting it technically right. He has more empathy for those who are brave, try, extend the boundries of dance but don't make it a pantomime. Whereas Len is a 'strictly technical guy' . Obviously thats why Craig can give a low score, when the boys at the end go higher. I can now understand where Craig is coming from, and rate him. Arlene, however, has never given me any reasons to consider her anything above someone who likes to not miss out on a comment. She doesn't have to butt in. Craig often doesn't. I look forward to seeing her in a long slot on ITT one day. Hopefully she will then be able to secure my confidence as Craig now has.

Craig is definitely the judge they look too knowing if he is complementary they have something rocking. Len they look to for technical scoring. Bruce is just a sweetie, and love that accent! Arlene just comes across as bitter and I am sure thats not the case. She needs to forge herself a judging niche so we can all understand where she is coming from.

I agree that Craig is often, though by no means always, informative, but that's a bit harsh on Arlene. The woman is the one whose voice gets drowned out by the immediate booing and shouting whenever a judge (other than Len) starts talking. If you listen carefully she's often trying to make a pertinent technical point, and give advice, when Bruce butts in and the crowd continues to hoot.

Wow! I actually can't believe that she's 60! Mind you, my gran looks pretty amazing for her age and she's 80 - she's always been into dancing too. That's it, I'm signing up for a class!

I agree with gkmacca, I think that Arlene does end up getting sat on by the other judges and Bruce on quite a few occasions. She does tend to be harsh, but usually she structures her criticism with a positive at the end, so it's often that that gets suppressed by the others. Arlene generally seems to believe that the celebs are capable of better, she expects their best from them and if she doesn't get it she criticises from that perspective. She also looks for the same faults from the same celebrity every week and if she sees them again she pounces on them. She's more likely to talk about that fault than the dance as a whole. She does praise when the celeb makes a real effort to fix something she mentioned, one example being Darren Gough's hands from week 1 to week 2.

I might not always agree with Arlene, but most of the time I can see where she's coming from.

As a teacher I always look to Len and Arlene's remarks which normally I agree with though sometimes find sweetie Len far too lenient

I had no idea she was that old!! That's it, I have to start dancing!!

I like Arlene, she tells it how it is imo. I had no idea she was 60-what a great advert for dancing!

Arlene's 60??????!!!!!!! She doesn't look it.....shows how good danciong is for you then....

I don't doubt her expertise but I do dislike some of the personal comments she makes. Also, she keeps telling them to take it seriously.

Well, I can understand why but my feeling about this is much like Celebrity Fame Academy. They might find out they've got a talent they didn't know, but none of these people are trying to make a career out of dancing so if they have a laugh along the way, it doesn't matter. In fact, enjoying it should be imperative and if all you're doing is stressing about it then you're not going to dervice much joy from it.

I just don't think she's being particularly realistic about the standards she's expecting of the celebrities this year.

Blimey, she doesn't look in her 60s at all.

She was saying on ITT that it doesn't matter how many hours they are putting in and how seriously they are taking it they have to show what they are learning on the dancefloor.

Whoops, that's probably in the ITT thread, right? LOL

Ooh I made up a new word. I did, of course, mean derive.

The only thing that bugs me about Arlene is that she keeps saying to the celebs "you're not taking this seriously enough". Like a stuck record. Dennis looks like he's about to have a heart attack after every dance and she will still tell him to take it seriously.

But I agree that she said the celebs shouldn't be arguing with the professionals. That bugs me when they do that and I think has more to do with the celebs egos, than dancing

She is no way 60 years old

I know she is extremely experienced/qualified etc., but she is opinionated, irritable (easily provoked), and over-emphasises every point she makes and/or is incapable of speaking quietly. Craig is a much better communicator.

Yes she is. What's your problem?

I mostly listen to what Arlene says because she is often quite right and its normally only constructive critisim that she gives, i often think that craig just likes being mean to ppl and Len + Bruno dont want to upset ppl and are too nice. Arlene seems to get a good middle ground

(She dus look great for her age if she really is in her 60's!)

Arlene is definitely in her sixties - She is great judge of this show for me though tonight (gets ready to run) I though she overmarked Darren Gough with 9

Totally agree. I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of her. I get the impression that she's got a very nasty streak.
Last edited by Peter E : 06-11-2005 at 00:12

i dont think its a nasty streak, i think she just relly wants the celebs to take it seriously and do really well, it makes her come a across as very determind, if a little too determind

No, it's not her determination. I know a lot of people who are very ambitious and determined in life but are nice people. I just get the impression that there's something really nasty about her.

I disagree; I think her comments are about the dance, in the end.

Last night I was trying to think of why I didn't like Fiona, even though she'd improved, when I liked (almost) all of the others, even when they didn't dance very well. Then I heard Arlene say Fiona wasn't taking it seriously enough, and I thought, "yes, that's it".

I wasn't going by what they did in practice, or how hard they worked, because I didn't even know those things. Instead, it was evident in the way she danced, and the way she related to the crowd and the judges, that she hadn't put enough of herself into it and didn't care enough; and consequently she wasn't really expressing anything in the dance.

All of the others (except maybe Patsy) are investing a lot more of themselves in each dance, and it shows in the way they perform.