Shirley Ballas

Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960 Since 2017, Ballas has served as head judge on the BBC One dancing competition show Strictly Come Dancing.

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. 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)