I want a big 80th birthday PARTY!

Age is just a number for Arlene Phillips, who tells Woman's Weekly she has no plans to slow down

While she may be thinking about how to celebrate W her 80th birthday next year, former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips doesn't plan on retiring any time soon. The choreographer to the stars, who's worked with everyone from Freddie Mercury to Diana Ross in a showbiz career that has spanned the past five decades, is busier than ever.

 

As Woman's Weekly catches up with Arlene, she's revelling in the success of The Cher Show, the latest production she directed with the help of fellow Strictly dancer Oti Mabuse, who choreographed it. 'She's a real force to be reckoned with,' Arlene, who was made a Dame last year, says of Oti, who made the decision to leave Strictly this year. 'I enjoyed it. It was a full week of rehearsal, we were working night and day, we were really thrown together.'

However, while Arlene is busy workshopping two new productions due to hit the stage in the near future, she does reveal she's more careful about what she takes on. 'I've not been thinking about retiring,' Arlene admits of her busy schedule, 'but I do think about each choice I make. I have to value it and think it through. There are a number of things I've started to turn down, I don't want to be working flat out. But if something comes along that I've longed to do, I'll do it.'