Shirley Ballas

Early life

Ballas was born as Shirley Annette Rich on 6 September 1960 and was raised in Wallasey, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England, with brother David and mother Audrey. The children's father left the family when Shirley was 2 years old. In 2018, Ballas discovered, when appearing on Who Do You Think You Are?, that she was descended from an enslaved Muslim woman from Madagascar. Her paternal great-grandfather was from Cape Town, South Africa.

Career

Dancing and marriages

At the age of 15, Ballas moved to Shipley, West Yorkshire to live with the family of new partner, British Ballroom Champion, Nigel Tiffany, which she described as "a difficult time". The two married when Ballas was 18, with the relationship ending five years later.

In 1985, she married American ballroom dancer Corky Ballas. and 1996 The pair moved to Houston, Texas to compete in the US. Their only child, professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas, was born in 1986.

Ballas stopped competing in dance competitions in 1996, becoming a dance coach and judge for ballroom and Latin American competitions.

In December 2023, Ballas was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where her choices included "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, "Moon River" by Frank Sinatra, "Highs and Lows" by Alexander Jean.

Television

Ballas has appeared on Dancing with the Stars, giving master classes and commentating on the show.

Following a selection process which attracted many candidates, on 9 May 2017, she was officially announced as the replacement for Len Goodman as head judge of Strictly Come Dancing. She made her first appearance on the panel four months later - at the launch show of series 15 on 9 September that year.

In January 2024, Ballas participated in the fifth series of The Masked Singer UK as the character "Rat". She was eliminated and unmasked in the third episode.

Advocacy

Ballas's brother David took his own life, aged 44, in 2003. Ballas was "absolutely devastated" and now works with mental health charity the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). In August 2023, Ballas completed the zip wire challenge at Zip World at Penrhyn Quarry in Gwynedd, and planned a 700 ft wing walk and 15,000 ft skydive, to raise money for the charity.

Personal life

In November 2024, it was reported that Ballas had parted from her fiancé Danny Taylor, after six years together. Ballas revealed that she had "changed her mind" about marriage after going through two divorces.

In February 2025, at Liverpool Crown Court, a 37-year-old man pleaded guilty to a charge of stalking Ballas and causing her "serious harm or distress", between August 2017 and November 2023. It was reported that the man's actions had a "substantial adverse effect" on Ballas's day-to-day life.

Filmography

Books

• Behind the Sequins: My Life (BBC Books, October 2020)
• Murder on the Dance Floor (HQ Books, October 2023)

References

References

1. (9 May 2017). "Welcome 'The Queen of Latin' Shirley Ballas, to our judging panel". [[BBC One]].
2. ""Clara was a bit of a party girl – lively and adventurous..."".
3. "DancesportInfo.net".
4. (24 November 2022). "Strictly's Shirley Ballas reunites with ex-husband Corky for this special reason".
5. (9 May 2017). "Strictly Come Dancing's new head judge - who is Shirley Ballas? {{!}} Press and Journal".
6. "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Shirley Ballas, dance judge".
7. (9 May 2017). "Who is the new Strictly Come Dancing judge?". BBC News.
8. Ballas, Shirley. (9 May 2017). "Shirley Ballas on Twitter: "I am so excited and over the moon to announce that I will be joining the judging panel on @BBCstrictly!". [[Twitter]].
9. (13 January 2024). "Masked Singer's Rat revealed to be Strictly judge Shirley Ballas".
10. (8 August 2023). "Strictly's Shirley Ballas's charity zipwire for suicide prevention".
11. (6 November 2024). "Shirley Ballas splits from fiancé Danny Taylor after six years - report".
12. Tulloch, Sarah. (6 November 2024). "Strictly's Shirley Ballas explains why she called off wedding to ex-fiancé".
13. (25 February 2025). "Shirley Ballas: Man admits stalking Strictly Come Dancing judge".
14. "Full Celebrity Bear Hunt line-up with Holly Willoughby confirmed".