Michael Summerton, had just died. She
was traumatised.
“I no longer had a place on Strictly,
but no agent, no one, to deal with it. It
was a really awful moment. I loved
Strictly. I have no answers as to why and
I wasn’t really strong enough to find the
answers. You know, I didn’t have it
inside me. It was so unexpected. There
was no warning, no discussion. Nothing.
There were never any conversations.”
Phillips was dancing when she was
three and “by the age of eight all I
wanted to do was dance, I couldn’t think
of anything else.” She was brought up
in Prestwich, a very Jewish suburb just
north of Manchester. The family seems
to have been dance crazy.
“My grandma had this little black-and-white TV. We watched whenever
there was anything on with dance. My
parents loved listening to ballet music.
They had the old 78s of Sleeping Beauty
and Swan Lake. That was the music in
our house. So I grew up with a passion
— I think children move to music natu-
rally. The music gets into their hearts.”
She had lessons, paying for them by
doing a paper round and working in a
bakery every day. At 15 the whole rou-
tine and her whole life was torn apart
when her mother died, aged 43, having
had leukaemia.
Phillips had wanted to go to school in
London to learn ballet. “I couldn’t go to
London,” she says. “I couldn’t leave my
family, my younger sister. I just couldn’t.”
Instead she went to dance school in
Manchester, where she studied all forms
of dance and started teaching. She even-
tually made it to London, where she
learnt and started teaching the latest
style, contemporary jazz, and decided
that was what she wanted to do.
But she had nowhere to live and fam-
ily responsibilities still weighed heavily
on her mind. Then she had what must
be among the top ten showbusiness
strokes of luck of all time. She was intro-
duced to Ridley Scott — yes, that Ridley
Scott — and she became his house
cleaner, nanny to his children and any-
thing else he needed: “I was his bit of
everything.” She could move to and live
in the heart of showbusiness London.
In 1974 she formed Hot Gossip and,
just as they were about to break up,
Mary Whitehouse came galloping to
their rescue.
Meanwhile she had married in 1971
(to a fashion designer, Dan Noble).
They divorced seven years later. Two
years after that she had her first daugh-
ter, Alana, apparently “after a brief
fling with a model on the set of a Village
People video” (not her words). In 1985
she settled down with, but did not
marry, Angus Ion, a carpenter. They’re
still together and have another daugh-
ter, Abi. Phillips bristles when I ask if
she has “settled down”.
“Settled down! I’ve never settled
down in my life! But, yes, I had a daugh-
ter. My career was booming. My career
was incredible. I was given so many
choices because of the success of Hot
Gossip. It was quite extraordinary
because suddenly you find yourself
doing many things you would never
have been asked to do. I was constantly
on chat shows, often talking about
things I knew nothing about.”
And here she is at 78, still dancing.
“I’m nowhere near as good as I was.
My gosh! You know, when I look back
now I could outdance most of the guys
I was working with. But, you know... it
doesn’t last for ever.”
I am about to wrap but she suddenly
bristles again. “You didn’t ask me about
being a dame! Me a dame, that little girl
from Prestwich. I always feel like
there’s some grand club, you know,
people who become a dame or sir, andI never thought I was going to belong to
that club.”
Yes, little three-year-old dancing
Arlene became a Dame Commander of
the Order of the British Empire last
year. Pick the bones out of that, Mary
Whitehouse CBE. cThe Cher Show is touring until Mar
2023; cheronstage.comThe Osmonds: A New Musical
It’s been 50 years since the brothers
from Utah burst on to the UK chart
scene and became one of the
biggest bands of the 1970s, selling
more than 77 million records. Now
a musical tells the story of their
journey to stardom and how they
coped with that from a young age.
Touring until Dec 3Get Up, Stand Up!
This musical
celebrates the life
of the Jamaican
star Bob Marley,
from his
childhood to his
death from cancer aged 36. The
singer’s reggae music soundtracks
the artist’s career highlights and life.
No Woman, No Cry turns into a track
for Marley’s long-suffering other
half, Rita, also a singer.
Lyric Theatre, London W1, until JanTina, The Tina Turner Musical
Expect gospel, fantastic harmonies
and a remarkable journey of
perseverance in Phyllida Lloyd’s
musical about the singer.
Aldwych Theatre, London WC2,
until Dec 18Mamma Mia!
Take a chance on
this hit musical
set in Greece
featuring the
catchy songs of
Abba. Want to
join in with the party? Then try the
immersive experience at the O2 in
London, where over four hours you
will sing, eat traditional meze and
thank them for the music.
The musical tours until Apr 2023;
Mamma Mia! The Party runs until OctJersey Boys
This doo-wop musical, telling the
true story of Frankie Valli and the
Four Seasons, has swept the globe
since it hit Broadway more than 17
years ago. The musical includes Top
40 hits such as Big Girls Don’t Cry.
Trafalgar Theatre, London SW1,
until Oct, touring until Mar 2023JUKEBOX MUSICALS
YOU CAN BOOK NOW
24 April 2022 9