Strictly star Shirley Ballas has told how she is gearing up to make “drastic changes” as she battles a secret health struggle.
The BBC head judge, 64, and dance teacher has problems with her spine, and doctors have warned she may have to undergo surgery next year.
She is now focusing on cutting out sugar, drinking ginger and lemon, and taking cold dips in the pool to help ease the pain.
Strictly judge Shirley Ballas on her health
Shirley told HELLO!’s Changemakers Podcast: “When it’s to do with the spine, you’re in constant pain all the time. 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 the last few months, she has vowed that 2025 “is my time” and will be making “quite dramatic changes”.
The 64-year-old lives with her 87-year-old mum Audrey Rich, while her professional ballroom dancer son Mark, 38, and grandson Banksi Wylde reside in Los Angeles.
“My son’s going to turn 39 next year, and we’ve been blessed with this little fella [her grandson]. 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 added.
Shirley’s Strictly journey
Shirley won several championship titles, and she went on to earn the nickname the Queen of Latin.
Her retirement from competitive dancing came in 1996.
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Shirley joined the Strcitly judging panel in 2017, as she replaced the late head judge Len Goodman, who died in 2023.
She has once again sat behind the sparkling desk alongside her fellow judges – Craig Revel Horwood, 59, Motsi Mabuse, 43, and Anton Du Beke, 58 – as they deliver their expert advice to the class of 2024.
Read more: Shirley Ballas reveals she grew a ‘beard’ due to being given wrong dose of hormones
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