BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas 'cried' after cruel comments from coach

Strictly Come Dancing's head judge Shirley Ballas admitted she "cried" after receiving biting criticism about her body from her coach in the US. Discussing her experiences on The Mid Point podcast hosted by Gabby Logan, Shirley recounted her challenging times in Texas following the birth of her son.

Ballas, whose son Mark Ballas is also a professional dancer, shared that during her dancing career, the cruel jibes weren't targeted at her talent but were instead personal remarks about her appearance. She confided that these comments would resonate with her for life.

Shirley explained: "Of course, Mark was unexpected so... once I'd given birth to Mark, I was right in the middle of my career."

Recalling one painful incident, she revealed: "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'."

Despite the harsh grading from her coach that day, she continued: "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 Gabby asked if the comments made her want to cry, Shirley responded: "I did cry. I was upset because obviously, I had all those post, you know, feelings.

"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."

Shirley, who shares her home with her 87-year-old mother, also has a grandson, Banksi Wylde Ballas, while her son is currently based in Los Angeles. The 64-year-old ballroom expert recently shared more about her family life and career during an episode of the Change Makers podcast, with snippets featured in Hello! magazine.

She confessed that her schedule is non-stop, saying she's "always working," but hinted at making some "dramatic" changes in the coming year. Banksi, affectionately known to Shirley as "glam-ma", arrived into the world on November 5, 2023, and Shirley expressed how they've been "blessed with this little fella".

She elaborated: "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 also mentioned her plans for "quite dramatic changes".