Strictly judge gives 3-word verdict on Giovanni Pernice scandal –- and won't forgive BBC

Former Strictly Come Dancing judge, Arlene Phillips, has admitted that while she has come to terms with her dismissal from the show by BBC executives, she will never 'forgive' them. The 81 year old choreographer served on the panel from 2004 to 2008 before being replaced by Alesha Dixon, then aged 30, which led to accusations of ageism.

When asked about her current feelings towards the decision, she responded: "Accepted but not forgiven. Yes, I have moved on. I suppose it is something to rejoice, and I can always remind myself, I was there at the pilot, when nobody ever thought this show was going to be a show. And to be the first female judge, there's a lot of accolades I could give myself."

She was also questioned about Giovanni Pernice who is absent from Strictly this year following a dispute over his alleged training methods.

She refrained from commenting directly on the controversy but noted: "Dance is tough. Dance is very tough, and learning is tough. But in terms of teaching, we have progressed from the teaching that I suffered when I was young. Teachers with canes."

"Your ballet teacher had a cane and they weren't afraid of using it, or shouting or screaming, or whatever it may be, the way you learnt to dance was, You have to devote your life to this. And teachers were the rulers of your life because they were the ones that held the key to making you a dancer.", reports the Mirror.

"Over time we have found ways. I was really strict throughout the Hot Gossip days, demanding, but for a long time now, I've taken the approach that everybody has a way of learning, and you try to discover that the way they will learn fastest, and you find a way that they can learn by and work with the way that they learn."

Arlene is currently involved in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express as the "creative dramaturg". The musical, which has been witnessed by 20 million people globally, has made a comeback to London at the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park.

Jeevan Braich takes on the role of Rusty, the lead character in this world of trains.

Arlene mentioned that Lloyd Webber was "totally committed " to the production. She further stated: "This show is so of its time.

"It always was....musically it was driving so many musical genres and again there's more new ideas and it has always been a show that Andrew has never backed off from. He has always found new ways and new ideas to bring into this musical."