Ahead of the debut of the BBC’s new talent show ‘The Greatest Dancer’, Cheryl has admitted that she does not have as much dancing experience as her fellow judges and that it was “a long time ago” that she attained the knowledge she does have.

35 year old Cheryl, a former star of Girls Aloud, is on the judging panel for ‘The Greatest Dancer’ alongside ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional Oti Mabuse and Broadway performer Matthew Morrisson, for the new series that begins on BBC One on January 5th.

“They’ve had really long careers in dance and in performing arts,” Cheryl told The Sun this week, after many questioned her appointment to the judging panel, her first such job since she left ‘The X Factor’ back in 2015. 

Her main experience in choreography is from her time in Girls Aloud, but in terms of professional dancing, Cheryl attended the Royal Ballet summer school when she was nine years old.

CherylCheryl will be one of the judges on 'The Greatest Dancer'

“Mentoring other people one-on-one like I did on ‘The X Factor’ might help me with the mentality of how things go. But in terms of knowledge and stuff, they’re more than qualified.”

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It comes after ‘Dancing On Ice’ judge Jason Gardiner ridiculed the decision to appoint Cheryl to the judging panel during a recent interview with The Mirror.

“The judging line-up on that is questionable as well… what’s her dance background? Where is her dance background?” Gardiner asked. “She went to Royal Ballet School that you pay for, an extortionate amount to go to because mum and dad just want to drop you off somewhere for the holidays.”

But Cheryl maintained in her interview that she wasn’t just there to make up the numbers, and had other skills and wisdom to impart.

Speaking in 2014 about her time at the Royal Ballet – which she attended on a scholarship as her parents were unable to afford the fees – she said she: “Hated it. Squashed the dream. It wasn’t me. I didn’t fit in. It was the first time I’d ever felt… class. I didn’t understand it. I just knew it was… different. And that they were… looking down their noses. If you like. But I couldn’t express it.”

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