There’s no trace of bitterness. She simply hasn’t time for negative thinking. Arlene Phillips is one of the UK’s busiest and most hard-working cultural emissaries; her diary is as full as the Air Traffic Controller’s departure sheet at Heathrow.

Famously, Arlene was relieved of her duties as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing in a move that provoked controversy.

Not that she minds, she’s now busier than ever.

When news of her departure broke, back in 2009, the BBC was accused of discrimination on the basis of age: she was then 66.

Harriet Harman, the Minister for Women and Equality, attacked the BBC’s decision to replace her with Alesha Dixon. In typically indomitable style, Arlene laughed it all off.

“Strictly was incredible, being part of the nation’s Saturday night entertainment was a thrill. I look back at it very fondly. I love the show, I love the idea of celebrities learning to dance and I love the combination of learning ballroom and latin; I just think it’s a great show.

“For me, it was all about the thrill of seeing somebody dancing and being strong and exciting. I loved watching people being gradually able to tackle some very difficult routines. I think there were a number of fabulous people, people like Mark Ramprakash. Some of them had brilliant dances that they performed almost as well as the professionals: like Jill Halfpenny’s jive or Zoe Ball’s tango.”

Being watched by 12 million people each Saturday evening didn’t have too great an impact on Arlene. She’s been in the public eye throughout her adult life.

“Even though a lot of the public know me for Strictly, I’ve always been used to that. Certainly, since Hot Gossip, I think people have always considered me the voice and face of dance.”

Ah yes, Hot Gossip. Arlene changed the game for contemporary dance during the 1970s when she became the director and choreographer of the iconic British dance troupe. She tore up the rule book and precipitated the demise of anodyne entertainers like Pan’s People, as she created inventive and overtly erotic routines for the nation’s delectation.

“Hot Gossip was just something that I created,” she says, humbly.

We just kept plugging away, I had no idea that it would become such a big hit, that we’d help discover Sarah Brightman or that we’d have a hit with Starship Trooper. All I’d wanted to do was create the kind of dance group that I would liked to have been in.”

That, in essence, is what Arlene’s been doing throughout her life. She had a difficult upbringing, losing her mother and father before she’d left her teens.

Her mother had inspired her to dance and her departure ensured Arlene would never waste a single moment. In dance, she found freedom and liberation; it became her
nirvana.

“I started when I was three,” she says, recalling early ballet and tap lessons at the Muriel Tweedy School, in Manchester.

“I’d always wanted to dance. It was just something that I had to do, it was like breathing, it had to be part of my life.

“Over the years, it has changed. Now the thrill for me can be in watching or seeing other people dance. I love all genres.

“I adore Saddler’s Wells, I go to see dance all the time. Creating and watching excites just as much as performing did.”

Though Strictly has moved on without her – and many feel the BBC show is diminished by Arlene’s absence – she remains a regular fixture in our living rooms during prime time slots. She’s presently appearing alongside Nigel Lythgoe in So You Think You Can Dance.

“I’m loving the present series,” she says.

“The competition has started to hot up. Once we get to the later stages, you can just feel the energy in the room and the adrenalin starts to flow.

“It’s the toughest competition ever, the performers are asked to do genres of dance that they’ve never approached before. A lot of it is down to the luck of the draw. For some, they’ll be asked to pick up something that they’ve not trained in.

“Others will be luckier and they’ll get to do styles that they’re familiar with. It’s so difficult and a lot of the rivalry starts.”

Towards the end of the competition, Arlene will spend more time with the performers. She’ll help them to hone their routines.

“At the start, I’m there with fresh eyes each week. When it starts, and we get people along for auditions, you find some that are so good that you just scream with excitement. With others, you’re just shocked. We don’t get masses of people along, because people realise it’s for serious dancers.”

She was asked to be part of the show by Nigel, whom she’d known for many years.

“I think he was the first to approach me and then the BBC wanted me too. I was a big fan of the show when it was on in America.”

Dance, however, forms just a part of Arlene’s increasingly-busy life. She’s developed a jewellery range, which is currently being sold on QVC and includes necklaces, bracelets and brooches. Since 2001, she’s been an OBE while in more recent times she released a clothing line with plus-size retailer Marisota.

Additionally, she’s written six books for children – which is what brings her to Shropshire this weekend – and is planning more.

“I love writing the books, it takes a lot of time but is great fun,” she says.

“I feel as though I re-enter the world that I inhabited when I was a little girl.”

Arlene Phillips will be at Shrewsbury Bookfest on Sunday at Theatre Severn, to promote her new children’s books.

There will also be performances from The Topaz Dance School and The Viv Kelly School of Dance and Theatre. Tickets are available, priced £7, from www.theatresevern.co.uk or on 01743 281281.