Arlene thrilled with 'Strictly' line-up

Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips believes that this year's line-up of contestants is the best yet.

The professional choreographer is pleased that the new series will not feature any Casualty or Holby City stars - as she does not believe that they are famous enough for the show.

"With the past few series there were always contestants who I don't think were big stars," Arlene told The Sun. "There were always people from Holby City and Casualty, and I think a lot of viewers would not have been sure who they were.

"But for this series they gave us the line-up and with every name I just went, 'Wow'. There's not one person you don't know. Everyone is desperate to do Strictly - we've got agents sending in tapes all the time."

The new batch of celebrities includes Kelly Brook, Letitia Dean, Kate Garraway, Brian Capron, Matt Di Angelo and John Barnes.