Bussell: Boys eclipsing girls due to Billy Elliot effect

Darcey Bussell, the ballerina, says an 'amazing' rise in the number of boys doing ballet has meant 'we're not producing enough women'

Female ballet dancers could be at risk of being left behind thanks to the "Billy Elliot effect", Darcey Bussell has suggested, as she claimed dance schools are now inundated with more boys than girls.

Bussell, the former ballet principal and Strictly Come Dancing judge, said she had been told the rise of ballet for boys had resulted in the "problem" of "not producing enough women".