Alesha Dixon has vowed to stay on as a Strictly Come Dancing judge, despite growing public criticism.

Dixon, a former contestant on the show, replaced veteran dance critic Arelene Philips, 66, on the panel for the new series.

But her judging technique and lack of experience on Saturday's opening episode came under fire from fans of the BBC 1 show.

However, in an interview with the Daily Mirror, Dixon said: “Obviously Arlene was a big part of the show for a long time.

“But my job is not to replace Arlene. My job is to provide a perspective that was maybe missing before and that is the understanding of the performance aspects and of just how tough it is to perform to the standards the viewers expect. 

“Having been through the Strictly experience I can relate to what they are going through.”

Dixon acknowledged that some of the criticism had been hard to take, but said: “You can’t please all the people all the time. You don’t get much time to decide what to say.”

Former Tennis player Martina Hingis was the first contestant voted off the new series last Saturday.