Brendan Cole definitely is not backing Strictly Come Dancing's Arlene Phillips for potential return to the BBC One series.
The former Strictly judge is one of several key players - along with Cole and Anton du Beke - being rumoured as potential replacements for head judge Len Goodman, who is retiring at the end of this series.
In a world exclusive chat with Digital Spy, Brendan surprised us with his own intriguing opinion on why bringing back Arlene Phillips would be unwise for the BBC.
"I'm not sure the BBC would do that. They don't tend to go backward the Beeb, they tend to go forwards," Cole told us.
As for whether he'd personally like to see Arlene back on Strictly Come Dancing next year, Cole explained: "I would like the show to go forward. Strictly has got to grow. The great thing about it is it has grown from its inception right through.
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"If you look back now, it's almost comical, the set, the lighting and production values. It's really wholesome. It's almost old school. Very 12 years ago.
"But the show has changed so much. The dancing has changed, the lighting has changed, the production. Everything is bigger and better and bigger and better. If you start to go backwards then the next thing you'd do is bring back some of the old professionals! Get rid of them! They were shit! That's why they didn't last!"
This past week, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood publicly balked at the idea of either Brendan or Anton landing Len's job in 2017.
"I would go for someone from the Latin or ballroom world that the public don't know," Craig suggested. "You have to remember that we were all unknown when we came on to the show and created our characters.
"With someone brand new you would get a whole new opinion and a whole new person to either love or hate. You sort of know what you're going to get with Anton and Brendan."
Right now, Brendan is in final rehearsals with Strictly Come Dancing partner Anastacia ahead of this weekend's first official dances.
Strictly Come Dancing kicks off its new series with a two-night premiere on Friday (September 23) and Saturday (September 24) airing on BBC One.
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
