STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell has vowed to unleash her inner bitch as she replaces Alesha Dixon on the panel.
Darcey is no stranger to bitchiness and sniping after 17 years in the competitive world of professional ballet.
Now she is set to give acidic co-judge Craig Revel Horwood a run for his money with her sharp critiques when the tenth series of the dance show launches next Saturday.
She told TV Biz: “You can’t help but be a perfectionist when you’ve been in the ballet world. When the celebrities have dancing ability, I will be very harsh. You can’t help but criticise if a dancer should be up to scratch and isn’t.
“After the first few shows people have got over the shock of having to perform. By the end there are no excuses — and I’ll tell them. If they get that far, they have so much to give — because it’s tough.
“I will be cracking the whip. I don’t know if I will outbitch Craig but I’m sitting next to him so I imagine his style will end up rubbing off on me.”
Darcey, 43, once the Royal Ballet’s youngest ever principal dancer at 20, enjoyed a dazzling career as Britain’s most famous ballerina. She even came out of retirement to dance at the Olympics’ closing ceremony last month.
But she admits having had ballroom dance lessons ahead of joining the Strictly panel alongside Craig, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.
She is now looking forward to being put through her paces when she dances an American Smooth with professional Ian Waite in the first show of the BBC1 series.
She said of her lessons: “I didn’t want to criticise celebrities on the show without knowing what I’m talking about. I’ve been so critical of myself over the years that I do love watching for detail. I notice every little thing — down to a dancer’s little fingers. Ballet and ballroom are similar in that there are all these rules you have to be fanatical about when performing.
“I want to be able to give out constructive criticism that helps build up contestants’ confidence so they come back better the next week.
“I am on their side because I know what it’s like to be in their shoes. I’ll be honest but I won’t ever be cruel for the sake of being cruel.”
Darcey has also asked Len Goodman’s wife — dance teacher Sue — for tips. But she admits it is Len who she is in awe of. She said: “He is such a gentleman. He’s the one who makes my knees turn to jelly. He turned up to film the trailer and it was the first time I noticed how blue his eyes were.
“I said to him, ‘So are you called Blue Eyes?’ He just said, ‘Er, thank you’. It was so embarrassing. Then, when we danced, I had to walk away from him after the practice to remind myself to breathe.”
Darcey added: “Filming the trailer was a treat. I danced with Bruno first and he could hardly put me down. He is so strong I’d have to remind him my feet weren’t touching the ground.
“At one point, he nearly dropped me. He had me in a back bend, I couldn’t get my feet down and Len and Craig were shouting, ‘Don’t do that to her!’
“They were very protective and sweet, not too intimidating. But I’m sure that will all change once we’re on the panel and they disagree with me.”
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