Strictly’s Shirley Ballas breaks silence on rumours she has split from toyboy fiance
SHIRLEY Ballas has insisted she hasn't fallen victim to the Strictly curse and is still going strong with her toyboy partner.
The head judge, 62, prompted rumours earlier this month that she had split from actor Danny Taylor, 50, after admitting she barely saw him and calling them “good friends.”
But on Thursday she said: “Danny, we're still together after four and a half years. That's miraculous.
“He has a very busy schedule and I have a very busy schedule.
"He's in the North and I'm in the south, but somehow we do try to make it work, so that's good.
“What I like most about Danny is he has a heart of gold and he puts up with my lifestyle.
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"I am like the Tazmanian devil and I'm all over the place.”
In a saucy quip, she went on to say she loves people dancing the rumba on Strictly, as it reminds her of sex.
She said: “I love all the dances but I particularly love the Viennese Waltz and I love the rumba, which is the vertical expression of a horizontal desire - work that one out.”
This week Shirley has completed a zipline and wing walk as part of a charity skyathlon, which will culminate in her doing a skydive on Saturday.
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It is raising funds and awareness for the mental health charity CALM - the Campaign Against Living Miserably, 20 years after her brother David took his own life.
On watching her wingwalk, Danny said: “She's got bigger balls than most men I've ever known.
“My heart sank today and I thought, 'How is she going to do it? How is she going to get on that plane?'
“It was a 1940s biplane with a thing attached to the top of the wings, it was just amazing how she focused, got up there and got on with the job.
“She did it for her brother but she also did it because this is such an important subject.”
Shirley joined Strictly in 2017 following the departure of Len Goodman and said she hopes the upcoming series will pay tribute to him, following his death in April aged 78.
Speaking on Instagram Live, she said: “I've been asked that many times and I do believe the BBC are keeping that close to their hearts."
