shirley's pain
Strictly’s Shirley Ballas in tears as she opens up about brother’s suicide on This Morning
SHIRLEY Ballas broke down in tears today as she spoke about her brother's suicide during an appearance on This Morning.
David took his own life 20 years ago and his photo is now being used as part of an exhibition in London's Southbank by charity CALM.
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Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley, 61, sat down with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield to share some memories of her brother.
Revealing she'd visited the exhibition, Shirley said: "Seeing my brother there just brought everything back from 20 years ago and I’m thinking to myself ‘If I knew [what I know] now back then I could’ve really helped in a much better way’."
Phillip, 60, asked Shirley to describe David, and she replied: "He was a rather large man and he was kind of like a powerhouse person on the housing estate where we lived.
"Everybody loved him, he was a big brother, he was like a father - he was everything to me.
"We talked every day at four o’clock. He was really the last person who I would ever think would take his own life."
Shirley admitted that while she missed the signs at the time in hindsight she could see that her brother was suffering.
She continued: "When I look back now there were warning signs.
"There were little things he would say and I would say ‘oh, you’ll be fine’.
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"Because you didn’t talk about it. Things like that were just not communicated."
Shirley added: "Communication is key. What I love about CALM is you can be a friend, a family member or you can be somebody who’s not feeling well and you can call them and they will be there for you."
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YOU'RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others... You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, , 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,
- Mind, , 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus,, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, , 116 123
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