BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas to make 'dramatic changes' after 'devastating remark'

Shirley Ballas has told how she's preparing to make 'drastic changes' as she battles a hidden health battle and prepares for a family milestone.

The Strictly Come Dancing star has been seen back on the panel alongside her fellow judges - Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke - as they cast their expert eyes over the new couples in the 2024 run of the BBC One dance contest.

But behind the sparkle, Shirley has told how she's battling a hidden health struggle. The professional dancer is facing severe problems with her spine and doctors have told her she is suffering from a deteriorated spine and may have to undergo surgery next year.

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"When it's to do with the spine, you're in constant pain all the time," Shirley said on HELLO!'s Changemakers Podcast. "It's like a nagging toothache that never goes away. So, I think I have to slow down.

"All the doctors told me that I need to learn to teach from a chair. I've never done that in my life. I'm an up and going kind of person. So, I will be forced possibly, in some certain way, to change some lifestyle habits in 2025 for sure."

In a bid to take care of her health, Shirley is focusing on cutting out sugar, drinking ginger and lemon, and taking cold plunges in the pool to help with her back pain but admitted the 'devastating remark' that made her think about changing her ways.

"When the doctor just looked at me straight and said, 'You know, if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be teaching at all.' That was a devastating remark for me, enough to push me into a place where I thought I best be really vigilant."

Meanwhile Shirley, 64, who currently lives with her 87-year-old mum, is planned to make changes after admitting she's "always working". Speaking about her son, professional ballroom dancer Mark, and her grandson named Banksi Wylde, who live in Los Angeles, she said: "My son's going to turn 39 next year, and we've been blessed with this little fella.

"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 continued to Hello: "And it's only in the last couple of months that I think: 'Okay, 2025 I'm telling myself is my time'. I will be making changes to things that I do, quite dramatic changes actually."