EXCLUSIVE: Kristina Rihanoff on whether she'd be a better judge than Strictly's Shirley Ballas

Kristina Rihanoff may have left Strictly Come Dancing over a decade ago, but the professional dancer still has some stuff to say on the long-running BBC series - even if she's not watching it!

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy at the Best Heroes Awards on Tuesday (13 October), Rihanoff was asked if she possessed the ability to be as good a judge as figures such as Shirley Ballas.

"I have no idea, to be honest," she replied. "You have to kind of be in their shoes, and I also don't know what was said on the panel to whom because, like I said, I'm not watching the show. So it's unfair for me to comment at all.

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"All I'm gonna say is that we need to remember it is entertainment, so it's not like a world championship, where I suppose we judge purely on the quality of dancing. A lot of that, like when I was with John Sergeant, is for entertainment value."

"It's what the people want to see dancing-wise. I just think the show is very different nowadays. When it was Tess [Daly] and Len Goodman, it was just a very different show to what it is now altogether," she added.

Though she admitted to having not watched the latest season, the dancer did express pride that former co-star Ola Jordan appeared on spin-off series It Takes Two for the first time in 11 years last week.

"It's great that Ola was there," said Rihanoff. "It's great that they're inviting the former pros. They haven't invited me for years, that's alright as well. I don't know how they choose, but I'm very happy. It's wonderful that she came back and was on the show."

Rihanoff made her debut on the BBC series in 2008, with her best result coming in 2014 as she finished in second place alongside Simon Webbe. She also reached the final three years earlier, finishing in third place with Jason Donovan.

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Despite the popularity of the series, it has been beset with various controversies over the past few years, and Rihanoff suggested that it may be a "good thing just to park it for a year".

"There's nothing wrong with it because Dancing with the Stars has done that and they go from strength-to-strength now. I think sometimes it's actually good to let people miss the show," she said.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.