Strictly Come Dancing’s head judge Shirley Ballas understands the show’s notorious Strictly curse — after two high-profile marriages to men who were her dance partners
NEW Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas understands the show’s notorious curse from personal experience.
As Britain’s Latin queen for over two decades, she had two high-profile marriages — both to men who were her dance partners.
Her second husband is even rumoured to have left her for much younger Strictly siren Kristina Rihanoff (more on that later).
Refreshingly Shirley is the first star of the show to admit what we’ve known for years: Sensually dancing with someone DOES lead to romantic feelings and is NOT just a job.
In her first interview since being signed to replace Len Goodman, the 56-year-old tells The Sun: “I mean look at the lady in King Kong – she fell in love with that . . .
“If you’re locked up in a room and you’re coming out in your little sensual clothing and men are baring chests and you’re there every week and you have to do romance, it’s difficult not to have chemistry.
“I mean we need chemistry on the show. Who’s to say who falls in love with who?”
Indeed. But that’s not to say she thinks the BBC1 favourite should be solely to blame for the end of so many seemingly solid relationships, most recently Jamie and Louise Redknapp.
She explains: “I understand life. I wouldn’t say particularly it’s down to Strictly.
“Maybe they were having problems before Strictly. It depends doesn’t it? We’re not inside those doors to tell or to judge really.”
Next weekend the self-described “fun, firm, feisty, fair and very fabulous” judge joins the Strictly panel in what is bound to be a shock to the dance show’s millions of loyal viewers.
The definition of pint-sized, she bounds into The Sun HQ with more energy than a cha cha cha and it’s instantly obvious she was born for the judging job.
But this working-class girl from the notorious Leasowe estate in Wallasey is going to shake up the cosy relationship on the panel that’s existed between Len, Bruno Tonioli, Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel Horwood for many years.
Got to keep him in check...he's mad giving his 1s and 2s
Shirley on Craig
She says: “I feel like everybody’s got their opinions and everybody will be putting forth and I know I have the deciding factor if they have a dance off.
“Everybody has some input and I feel I have just that little bit of extra when it comes to this or that. Of course I have to keep Bruno and Craig in check.
“You’ve got mad Craig giving out his ones and twos.
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“I know Bruno very well and as long as he keeps to his space we’re going to be fine. This is my space that’s your space.”
Nobody keeps Bruno, known for his dramatic hand gestures, in his own space, I counter. With steely determination in her eyes, Shirley grabs my hand and says seriously: “Oh yes he will. You want a bet?”
I wouldn’t bet against her . . .
Shirley — who has spent the last decade working in the US — has never met “gorgeous Darcey” but believes they will get on, explaining: “She’s like a little angel. I think she brings a lightness and a sincerity to the show.”
Shirley With the Twirley — who still likes to dance every now and then — has a few other nicknames in the dance world.
“The Queen of Latin, Pain in the A**e or She’s Too Strict, you know. Give us a twirl Shirl, they say too,” she adds with a laugh.
She fully intends to keep Len’s standards as head judge, but there’s a limit to her criticism.
She explains: “I’m not there for destroying souls — that’s not who I am.
She's like a little angel. She brings lightness & sincerity.
Shirley on Darcy
“I certainly won’t be giving a one or a two.
“But I’m going to take it from an honest point of view of what I see.
“You don’t want too much pink ice cream — that will make you sick, you understand?
“So I’m not going to sit there all, ‘you’re so lovely you’re lovely you’re lovely’ if it’s not really improving; it’s got to improve.”
It was Shirley’s son Mark — a professional dancer on the US version Dancing With The Stars — who recommended she go for the job as soon as there was wind in the tight-knit ballroom community that Len might retire.
She recalls: “I said, ‘Well I’m not so sure.’ My son said, ‘Well just try.’ So I found out where to sort of apply if you like.”
Shirley was summoned to a screen test in London where she judged in a studio alongside Craig who she had never met before.
When Shirley got the news she had got the job she was already back in Hollywood in the middle of training another dance couple.
She recalls: “When the lady told me, I did fall to my knees because it’s coming home for me.
“The first person I Facetimed was my son. He said, ‘You see, dreams come true.’”
Shirley doesn’t believe her gender came into the decision, saying: “At the end of the day, the BBC have a good feeling for who is a good fit for the job and who has the qualifications.
“It wouldn’t have mattered to me if it would have been three men and one lady, or two ladies and two men, or four ladies. How about that then? Just kidding.”
I know him well. If he keeps to his space, we'll be fine.
Shirley on Bruno
And despite being aware of the BBC’s hugely controversial gender-gap pay row, Shirley claims she is unaware of how her salary compares to the other judges.
She says: “They could have got off with paying me nothing. I would have been fine with that.
“I’m the newbie coming onto the show. When you get to know me as a person, you’ll see I think life is a lot more about sharing and giving.”
Shirley has spent four decades in dance, falling for her first partner Sammy Stopford when just 17.
She recalls: “That’s when I turned pro. I fell in love with him. We had a career together until 1983.” That’s when Shirley met Corky Ballas, the father of her only child Mark.
She explains: “We fell in love and then I ended up getting divorced (from Sammy) and didn’t want to dance anymore.”
Shirley on vampire blood
SHIRLEY credits Hollywood’s notorious vampire facial for her youthful good looks.
She says: “They take blood out of your arm, separate the red from the white then re-inject it. All it does is make the skin, the collagen, go up a little bit.
“I’ve had a little bit of Botox. No filler. I haven’t had a facelift. Not yet, anyway.”
But she stresses she has not felt pressure “from anybody for anything” to appear a certain way.
She says: “I just want to look decent, you know? I want to take care of myself.
“As you get older, you get up in the morning and it’s drooping here and drooping there.
“I wake up sometimes and think, ‘Oops, that doesn’t belong to me . . . oh, yes it does’. You want to preserve things as long as you can.”
Shirley also does 90 minutes of yoga a day, saying: “I find that it gives me a calmer mind. I like the meditation and the stretching.”
She also adheres to a strict diet and will never finish a sandwich, explaining: “My mother was very strict. ‘You are what you eat’, she used to say to me.”
But after moving to the US, Shirley couldn’t give up her passion for dance so trained Corky, who was a chef, “from scratch”.
The pair won the International Latin American Dance Championship in 1995 — 22 years after she had bagged the same accolade with first husband Sammy.
She explains: “So I won in 1983 and came back in 1995 having trained this beginner to win my title and beat my ex-husband.”
It has been widely rumoured that Shirley’s marriage to Corky, 56, ended because he ran off with ex-Strictly pro and notorious man-eater Kristina Rihanoff, 39.
Sensual clothing, doing romance, bare chests...it's hard not to have chemistry.
Shirley on the Strictly curse
But Shirley wants to clear that up: That woman (whose last name she pronounces as Rhine-off, I think on purpose) did not steal her man.
She explains: “He absolutely did not leave me to run off with Kristina Rhine-off. I don’t exactly know when he got with her — our marriage was coming to a close for various reasons and it was somewhat later on.”
In fact, forgiving Shirley even invited her ex-husband around to her house with his far younger lover.
She says: “She came to my house once or twice in Dulwich for lunch, she came with Corky for lunch.
“It was absolutely fine. Life is too short. Yesterday’s gone, tomorrow’s promised to nobody, so we have to enjoy the now.
“So yes, I’m dignified always with any exes. You can’t make somebody love you if they don’t, right?”
Would she stop Kristina returning to Strictly? She answers sincerely: “I think if the BBC were happy to have her back and she did a good job I don’t think it would be because of me she doesn’t come back.”
Shirley is now happy on her own. Wagging her ring finger, she says: “It’s no longer to be. I’m single. I’m happy that way at the moment. Two and a half years now. Taking care of my 80-year-old mother.”
Are you dating? “No, not dating, no.” Are you open to finding love? “We’ll see.”
Perhaps she’ll find it on Strictly, I suggest. With a hysterical hoot, she answers: “Oh my goodness could you imagine the headlines! ‘Shirley runs off with band leader!’”
Shirley is delighted to be able to share her Strictly experience with her inspirational mother Audrey who raised her on her own.
She says: “My mother used to say, dream big. And there was always those people around you who were like, ‘Oohh it’ll never happen.’
“I remember somebody calling me a wallflower once and thinking to myself, ‘Well that wallflower has now blossomed.’”
Shirley on bad blood
IF she gets her way, there will be no bad blood with pros Anton Du Beke and Brendan Cole, who both missed out on the head judge role.
Shirley says: “There is an amazing respect for what I have achieved in my industry and I have an amazing respect for their careers.
“I taught Brendan for years – he was fiery and feisty but I could keep him in check so I’m not worried about him at all. And Anton, he’s just the most loving thing you can ever get your hands on.
“In fact, every day I go to work in the United States, when I’m teaching, it’s his poster on the wall. I put my key in the door and say, ‘Good morning Anton!’ He’s right there.
“So I love both those boys but I shall still be strict on them if they’re not doing their thing.”