Strictly Come Dancing’s head judge Shirley Ballas has opened up about how one shake-up on the BBC show left her devastated and unable to fight back tears.
Shirley Ballas was heartbroken over the news(Image: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed she found it difficult to hold back her emotions when one of the BBC programme’s most iconic judges departed.
Shirley, 66, has completed ten series on Strictly since becoming head judge in 2017, and has established herself as a viewer favourite over the years.
She returns for Strictly 2026 this weekend alongside fellow judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke.
However, it was the departure of former judge Bruno Tonioli in 2019, two years into Shirley’s tenure, that truly affected her, especially as he had been instrumental in helping her navigate life on the panel after she secured the position.
Shirley made the revelation on The Joe Vulpis Podcast while responding to a question about tough judging, following her decision to award La Voix, a contestant on last year’s series of Strictly, a two out of 10.
During her response, she discussed the varying approaches adopted by her fellow Strictly and Dancing with the Stars judges, before paying tribute to Bruno specifically.
She said: “If the viewers at home don’t like what I score, I appreciate their opinion and they should appreciate mine.
“I’m not there to score brownie points with the audience or the people on TikTok, I’m there to do the job that I’ve been born and raised to do, and that I will do to the best of my ability.
“It might not be what you think, but it’s definitely what I feel it should be. And I can’t criticise anybody else’s job because everybody else, Derek [Hough], Carrie Ann [Inaba] who’s a wonderful friend of mine.
“Bruno, who I absolutely adore, and cried buckets when he left England because he kind of showed me the ropes. You know, each person does what they feel they need to do.”
This isn’t the first occasion Shirley has discussed her involvement with Strictly, as the Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro judge also revealed how she unwinds following a live broadcast.
In conversation with Saga, Shirley described what life is like sharing her London residence with her mother Audrey.
She said: “I walk in through the door after a show and there she is in this little old pink dressing gown which has got to be as old as she is. And I can see from her face she’s disagreed with my marks. Even though I’m 65 I can still feel like a young girl again.”
Making light of how her mother is simpler to cohabit with than a romantic partner, Shirley added: “It’s easier than living with a boyfriend.
“I could never, ever put her in a home. She was there for me from the beginning, and I shall be with her till the end – although she thinks she’ll outlive me.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns tonight (September 19) at 7.25pm on BBC One.
