Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has opened up about how she suffered horrific “bullying” in the dance industry months which almost ended her career – just weeks before she landed a role on the BBC show.
The 63-year-old head judge has become a staple member of the star-studded judging panel since she joined the beloved ballroom program show back in 2017. Since then, she has gone from strength to strength, winning over the nation with her firm but fair criticism on the dance competition.
But it hasn’t always been easy for the northern lass, as she revealed when she appeared on the It Can’t Just Be Me podcast. During the show, hosted by Channel 4 presenter Anna Richardson, the doting mum-of-one confessed how she suffered intense bullying from her colleagues while she was working at the peak of her judging career.
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She told listeners: “In 2015, 2016 and 2017, I was being badly bullied in an industry – my industry is primarily run by men – and they were stopping my work. So I was at the very, very top of the tree, teaching all the top competitors in the world.
(Image: Getty Images for The National Lo)
“And then these men at the top started to stop my work. I don’t know whether they didn’t like it that I was becoming quite a ‘somebody’ in the industry, a great teacher or whatever.”
“I talked to my mother about it and she said, ‘It’s your ego talking, Shirley. You’re just nervous about losing all these couples’. She said, ‘Teach beginners.’
It was at this point that the author candidly confessed that she feared she had hit rock bottom. She went on: “For me, it was quite devastating at the time, and then Strictly came along out of the blue.”
(Image: itcantjustbemepod/Instagram)
“I’d never done a day’s work in television in my life. You know, I did have the qualifications, but I didn’t have the behind the camera qualifications, if you like.
“From this bullying and this losing all my work and thinking to myself, ‘I have to start from scratch now’, came this job.” The star went on to advised listeners who are also at a crossroads in their lives to trust the process.
Shirley concluded: “So sometimes, we’re derailed a little bit on the train. We’re feeling bad about everything, and then an opportunity comes along, and then we can embrace it.”
(Image: PA)
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It comes after the brunette beauty became a grandmother for the first time in November after her son Mark and his partner BC Jean gave birth to their son Banksi Wylde Ballas.
The doting mum shared a snap of their newborn son swaddled in a peach blanket which she captioned: “Welcome to Earth my son.” The couple were showered with congratulatory comments immediately after posting.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
