Strictly's tragedies – Shirley suicide heartache, fireball horror and exits after losses

Strictly Come Dancing fans across the land are gearing up for this weekend’s final.

This year’s contest has already proved to be an open race – with many of the 2021 hopefuls touching the hearts of many with their empowering journeys.

Only this week, AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington were dealt a major low blow after the TV presenter sustained a frightful injury in the last hour which meant she was forced to pull out.

Casting out minds back to past stars of the programme, AJ really isn’t alone when it comes to suffering heartache.

In fact, quite shockingly many Strictly members have had their own tragedies to deal with across the years.

Daily Star is here to reflect on some of the most troublesome and emotional times – from loved ones who have passed away, cancer and a horrific life hack that went terribly wrong.

Faye Tozer

Steps singer Faye Tozer decided not to disclose her heartache when she competed for the Glitterball trophy in 2018.

At the time, Faye who was teamed up with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, was breaking inside after learning that her mum Dorothy was undergoing treatment for Stage 3 breast cancer.

In a past interview with HELLO!, Faye expressed her guilt over putting on “sequins” every week while her mum popped on a “cold cap”.

The hitmaker told the publication: “It was mum’s journey, not mine. I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me or ask how I was because it wasn’t about me. I wanted to get on with the job, and mum wanted that as well. She was so incredibly positive.”

Faye had believed that her mum was over the worst after she’d successfully completed her treatment in 2019, however last year they received the devastating news that Dorothy now had lung cancer.

While doctors were hopeful that they could treat the cancer – and they did – they couldn’t confirm if it would kill it completely.

Alexandra Burke

Former X Factor star Alexandra Burke proved to be a woman warrior when she fearfully danced her way to the final after her mum tragically passed away on launch day of Strictly in 2017.

In a statement that was released on the day of the opening show, Alex confirmed that she would not be giving up her place on the programme.

It read: “Mummy has always been my biggest supporter and was over the moon when I told her I was doing Strictly…

“I know that she would have wanted me to carry on.”

Alexandra’s mum, Melissa Bell, died at the age of 53 on August 28 2017.

Her heartbreaking death came as a result of diabetes mellitus – a hereditary condition – and kidney ailments.

Throughout the competition, Alexandra proved to be a force to be reckoned with and even scored the most 10s from the judging panel.

However, at the last hurdle she was beat to the winners podium by Joe McFadden and Katya Jones.

Kelly Brook

The Heart FM radio regular signed up to take part in the fifth series of the glitzy BBC programme.

However, her 2007 journey was cut short after Kelly had received the tragic news that her father had passed away suddenly – leaving her no choice but to pull out.

Initially, Kelly vowed to continue on in the competition in a bid to make her dad proud however it all became too much for the Celebrity Juice star and she later quit.

At the time of the TV star’s exit, a spokesperson for the BBC said: “Understandably she has found it too difficult. Kelly has been a fantastic part of the programme, and she will be sorely missed by everyone on the show who would also like to express their deepest sympathy to Kelly and her family at this difficult time.”

Shirley Ballas

If anyone understands what any of the celebrities might be going through when losing a loved one then it surely has to be Strictly judge Shirley Ballas.

Not only has the TV judge suffered with her own health concerns along the way – including a very recent cancer scare that was spotted by BBC 2021 viewers – but also the tragic death of her brother David.

At the age of 44, David sadly decided to take his own life in December 2003, leaving Shirley and her family devastated.

Just this month, Shirley posted a heartfelt and lengthy tribute to her brother on Instagram.

She said: “Darling David I miss you very very much, you were my anchor, my guider, my brother, my go to when things got tough and as for those bear hugs I can only dream about them now.

“There is not a day goes by that I don’t think about you and all the times I got to spend with you. Family to you was everything. A fierce and protective brother, son and father.”

Finishing the post, she added: “We miss you with eve single breath we take, keep resting in peace my dear beloved brother till we meet again. It breaks my heart to write this, but I know you are always watching over us wherever you are. You are so loved David.”

Ashley Roberts

The Heart FM radio star and ex Pussycat Dolls star blew everyone away with her contemporary performance devoted to her father 2018 – who had passed away in March of that year.

Pat Roberts took his own life at the age of 69 after a lengthy battle with his mental and physical health.

The songstress confirmed the tragic news on Instagram, alongside an adorable throwback picture of him with his arms wrapped around her as a child.

She included the caption: “With great sadness in my heart, I wanted to share with you that on the 19th of March – after a long battle of physical and mental heath – My father took his own life.

“The past 3.5 weeks I’ve been in a state of shock, confusion, questioning, pain so deep in my guts it’s been hard to come up for air. Feeling like I don’t know how to move forward from here. What am I supposed to do with all this?”

She added: “For now, I sit here with this pain – Inviting it ALL in. To teach me, to heal me, to rebuild me.

“If any of you have gone through something similar. I understand and my heart goes out to you.”

James Jordan

The Strictly professional recently opened up about his mental health struggles on The Full Monty after losing his dad to cancer in March this year.

In a raw an emotional clip on the programme, James explained that he’d “pretty much cried every day for a year” after his father was told his illness was terminal.

Allan had suffered a series of strokes before doctors diagnosed him with an untreatable brain tumour.

During a mens special on Loose Women, James opened up about Allan’s battle and death – explaining that it left him in a ‘very dark place”.

The ballroom dancer told the panel: “I don’t think men suffer with grief differently to women.

“I wasn’t very good at all. It put me in a very dark place and I started grieving the day I found out he was going to die.”

James added: “I was grieving for a year and then we lost him and then you start grieving again. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever been through.”

Abbie Quinnen

Social media influencer Abbie Quinnen and the Strictly star AJ Pritchard had been impressing their YouTube followers with a number of life hacks during the lockdown period in the UK.

However, one unhelpful trick would dramatically change their lives forever as the pair attempted to make a vase out of wine bottle, using a naked flame.

The stint went terribly wrong and Abbie’s hair, face and clothes were engulfed in fire which left her with permanent scars.

After the fireball had left her with horrific burns, AJ’s traumatised girlfriend begged him: “Do you still love me?”

In an interview with The Sun, she explained how she’d been left with third-degree burns and needed to have painful skin grafts to help with healing her wounds.

Speaking about the frightful ordeal, she told the publication: “AJ and I just wanted to do the life hack video for fans to watch at home. It was a popular video online so we were doing a test-run in the kitchen that I was going to film.

“My hair caught fire and within seconds the flames had spread to my top and my body was alight.

“It was such a shock, I was panicking and screaming. I dropped down to the floor and I was rolling to try to put out the fire.

“I saw my life flash before my eyes. I never thought something like that would happen to me.”

For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk