Editing Arlene Phillips (section)

=== Departure from ''Strictly Come Dancing'' ===
After the close of the 2008 series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'', the BBC announced that several changes would be made to refresh the show in 2009.<ref name="drop"/> This led to a great deal of speculation in the media that Phillips might be dropped from the judging panel, but the BBC refused to respond to reports. They finally confirmed the news at the launch of their autumn schedule on 9 July 2009:<ref name="drop">{{cite news| url= http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6675424.ece |work=The Times|title= BBC drops Strictly judge Arlene Phillips for a younger model Alesha Dixon |date=10 July 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110615185104/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6675424.ece |archive-date=June 15, 2011 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> she was replaced by former Strictly winner [[Alesha Dixon]].<ref name="drop"/> The news led to much criticism being directed towards the BBC for its apparent discrimination against older women on television; the BBC, however, strongly denied this.<ref name="drop"/><ref name="age"/>

The replacement of Phillips led to an unprecedented intervention from the then [[Minister for Women and Equality]], [[Harriet Harman]].<ref name="age"/> During a session in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], Harman responded to questions stating that she believed the decision to drop Arlene Phillips was motivated by age discrimination, and called on the BBC to ensure that she would be taking part in the new series.<ref name="age">{{cite news|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/5844671/Strictly-Come-Dancings-Arlene-Phillips-is-a-victim-of-ageism-says-Harriet-Harman.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090719105755/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/5844671/Strictly-Come-Dancings-Arlene-Phillips-is-a-victim-of-ageism-says-Harriet-Harman.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 July 2009|title=Strictly Come Dancing's Arlene Phillips is a victim of ageism, says Harriet Harman|last=Singh|first=Anita|date=16 July 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> The BBC did not formally respond to Harman's request, but repeated its comments that the decision was not due to age.<ref name="age"/>