Shirley Ballas addresses her future on Strictly Come Dancing after 'awful' messages

Virgin Radio

27 Mar 2023, 08:31

Shirley Ballas has hinted she has considered leaving Strictly Come Dancing after receiving “truly awful” message from people online.

Ballas has been the head judge on the BBC show since 2017 and has been a valuable part of the series ever since. However, Ballas revealed in a recent interview that things got to an “all-time low” in last year’s season due.

She told The Mirror: “Last year, I was struggling. It wasn’t just a little bit, it was a lot- the majority of it was in silence.”

Ballas continued: “I felt the abuse snowballed out of control and impacted me in such a negative way. I’m a pretty stoic person, and I tend to hold everything in.”

The judge admitted it was the most negativity she has “ever experienced” but praised the “brilliant” BBC for regularly checking up on her and offering support and counselling.

When asked if the online abuse has caused Ballas to quit Strictly, she said: “It was a difficult series, I’ll leave it at that.

“Will I go back to Strictly? I always take one step at a time.”

Last year’s season of Strictly Come Dancing saw wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin and his professional parter Jowita Przystal take home the glitterball trophy after going head to head with Helen Skelton and Gorka Marquez, Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu and Fleur East and Vito Coppola in the final.

At the time, Hamza said: “Thank you to everyone out there voting for us. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me.

"One, surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you come in. Two, the top of one mountain is the bottom of another so keep climbing. And three, slowly is the fastest way to get to where you want to be."