BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas 'cried' after cruel remarks from judge

Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas has opened up about a distressing experience in her past, revealing that she was left in tears after being subjected to harsh comments from her coach while working in the US. Speaking on The Mid Point podcast with Gabby Logan, Shirley recounted a story from her time as a dancer in Texas, shortly after the birth of her son Mark.

However, the remarks that left her in tears were not about her dancing abilities, but rather about her physical appearance. Shirley shared: "Of course, Mark was unexpected so... once I'd given birth to Mark, I was right in the middle of my career.

"I'll never forget doing a competition shortly afterwards, and my coach saying to me, 'We don't want to see your stretch marks. How dare you be so insulted to bring that fat body into the ballroom'.

"And he marked a sixth on that day and we ended up third and I'll never forget; that will sit with me for the rest of my life, which makes me careful about how I talk to other people."

When asked by Gabby if she had wanted to "cry", Shirley replied: "I did cry. I was upset because obviously, I had all those post, you know, feelings."

Shirley Ballas opened up about her post-pregnancy experience, saying: "It was six weeks after he was born and I thought I'd done pretty good to get myself... half decent in a Latin dress; you know, with some cut-outs on the side, you know. So I thought I'd done quite well there, but there was always people pulling you down," reports the Liverpool Echo.

The Strictly star, who shares her home with her 87 year old mother, is also a proud grandmother to Banksi Wylde Ballas.

Her son resides in Los Angeles, while Shirley, at 64, continues to juggle her family commitments with a demanding career. She recently shared more about her personal and professional life on the Change Makers podcast, an excerpt of which was featured in Hello! magazine.

Despite being constantly busy, she confessed that she's contemplating "dramatic" changes in the coming year. Banksi, affectionately known by Shirley as "glam-ma", was born on November 5, 2023.

Shirley expressed her joy, stating: "And I want to be part of everything he's doing. I work a full-time job and Strictly is like a Saturday job for me - a wonderful Saturday job! I'm always working, so I am pulled in every direction."

She hinted at upcoming "quite dramatic changes".