BGT's Alesha Dixon addresses 'intense' time on Strictly and real reason why she quit

Wales Online

26-04-2025

BGT's Alesha Dixon addresses 'intense' time on Strictly and real reason why she quit
Alesha Dixon set the record straight about moving from Strictly Come Dancing to Britain's Got Talent, after an "intense" time on the BBC show
Alesha Dixon opened up about the 'lowest point' in her life
Britain's Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon has opened up about her experience on Strictly Come Dancing, as a contestant and a judge.
The 46-year-old won the BBC show with her professional dance partner Matthew Cutler back in 2007. Two years later, she joined the panel as a judge, replacing Arlene Phillips.
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Alesha said while she never wanted to do a reality show, she made the "difficult" decision after experiencing the "lowest point" in her life.
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Just months before, the singer's first marriage to Michael Harvey, best known as MC Harvey, came to an end after one year.
To make matters worse, she also lost her record deal before an "amazing producer" name Brian Higgins approached her to do some song writing.
During these sessions, Alesha wrote her song The Boy Does Nothing, which later became her biggest hit, selling over one million copies worldwide.
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After David Walliams described her career turnaround as a "magic moment" for her on the Making A Scene podcast, Alesha recalled feeling support from her fans.
Alesha Dixon shared the real reason why she quit Strictly Come Dancing
"I could feel the energy at the time, and that really was what kind of got me through as well, because it was a very emotionally challenging time," she shared.
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"Being in Strictly as well, it enabled me to just be in this bubble."
Alesha said things later became "intense" for her when she became a judge on the panel, and received backlash over the decision.
"To be honest, it was quite heavy at the time and I thought, why have I said yes to this? I didn't sign up for this," she shared.
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"But, it ended up being well in the end, it was just a storm in a teacup that I needed to get through."
After her stint as a judge came to an end after three series, she moved on to join Britain's Got Talent.
While it was rumoured at the time that Simon Cowell had "poached" her from the BBC, she said this wasn't the case.
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She explained: "They thought that Simon had poached me from the BBC, but I'd actually already made the decision to leave Strictly.
"I always knew I was only going to do three years on the show."
Quizzed further about her decision to leave, she added: "Because I didn't feel like I wanted to settle there, I wanted the experience of it, but I felt like I wanted to move on and try something new.
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"I enjoy Britain's Got Talent so much, which is why I've been there for so long."
Britain's Got Talent continues tonight at 7.30pm on ITV and ITVX.