‘I'm optimistic about the FUTURE'

Arlene Phillips tells Woman’s Weekly how she can’t wait to hug her family once the pandemic is over

- HAYLEY MINN

Like many people working in the creative arts industries, choreographer Arlene Phillips’ life is completely different compared to just over a year ago.

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‘I’ve seen more of my partner since the first lockdown than I have in the entire 36 years we’ve been together!’ she laughs, talking of Angus Ion, who she’s been living with in the Herefordshire countryside.

Prior to the pandemic, choreographer Arlene, 77, explains how for ‘as long as she can remember’, she only tended to be at home on Sundays – with her work always keeping her busy in theatres or travelling the world.

But with the shows she was working on not happening in 2020, Arlene admits the past 14 months have been a ‘shock to the system’, though she’s now had her COVID-19 vaccines and is feeling very optimistic about the future.

‘I was so excited,’ she tells us, recalling the moment she was vaccinated. ‘It’s really the weirdest thing. It’s such an emotional event. I used to go for my flu jabs and never think anything of it. And now it’s become a major moment in my life.’