Strictly Come Dancing Star Dame Darcy Bussell has claimed that female ballet dancers are finding it hard to keep up with the men.

The retired dancer said the creation of new ballets with more equally weighted roles had led to a 'transformation', and women were struggling to keep up with the physical and technical attributes of some male dancers.

Dame Bussell said that in classics such as Swan Lake, the dominant roles were for women and the men were there to 'make women look as good as they could', as reported by The Times.

But that this was now changing, she told Oxford Literary Festival: 'I knew how tough it was for men I danced with but then I have seen this transformation where works have been created just for men.

The retired dancer (pictured) said the creation of new ballets with more equally weighted roles had led to a 'transformation', and women were struggling to keep up with the physical and technical demands

Xander Parish and Yasmine Naghdi in the Royal Ballet's production Sylvia at Hull New Theatre in September 2017

'I see incredible talent with the men nowadays and actually the girls coming through are finding it hard to keep up with the guys.'

Dame Bussell added that shows such as Strictly, where she is a judge and choreographers such as Sir Matthew Bourne had 'broken down barriers.'

Boys ballet has been booming ever since the 2000 the hit film Billy Elliot brought it into the mainstream.

After the films success boys have been outnumbering girls at The Royal Ballet School for some years.

Darcy Bussell previously remarked in 2017 that: 'Suddenly male dancers have become this extraordinary talent and we can't get enough of them.'

Cuban sensation Carlos Acosta is one of the best known ballet dancers in the world. He is now retired

And thanks to spellbinding stars such as Carlos Acosta, male stars on Strictly Come Dancing and Britain's Got Talent, dancing has more appeal than ever for men and boys.

Another well-known male ballet dancer is Hull-born Xander Parish who became the first British dancer employed by the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg.

Although ballet conjures images of ethereal ballerinas in gossamer tutus, there is nothing intrinsically feminine about it.

In Russia and Cuba there has never been stigma about being a male ballet dancer, yet the stereotype of ballet as female has proven hard to shake off in the UK, until now.