Eastenders star Jamie Borthwick and professional dancer Nancy Xu have been crowned this year's winners of the Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas special.
11.12.2023 - 07:47 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has opened up on the 'immense bullying' she's witnessed in her industry, and that she's 'close to naming and shaming' those complicit.
The TV judge said there is a “handful of misogynistic people with egos that just will not deflate” while talking about bullying in the dance industry. The 63-year-old, who is head judge on Strictly Come Dancing, recalled the “immense bullying” she received just before she landed a job on the BBC One show.
Speaking to host Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Ballas said: “I was going through immense bullying in the industry from men at the top. I’ll just go as far as that, and they were stopping my work.
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“I was like an elite teacher, I was teaching the top couples in the world. And then there were threats going to certain couples saying, ‘There’s nine of us and one of her, if you train with her, we’re going to make sure you don’t make it in the industry.’
“Men and women stopping me judging.” She added: “So there was an awful lot of things going on like that for no particular reason, other than that they didn’t want a woman in any high places.
“And that’s how I felt and that’s my perspective on it.” Asked if she thinks the industry was misogynistic, she said: “100% for sure and I don’t think it’s much better today. I still think that bullying goes on.
“There’s a lot of great people in my industry. There’s a lot of people who want to see people do extremely well and I think we
Eastenders star Jamie Borthwick and professional dancer Nancy Xu have been crowned this year's winners of the Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas special.
Shirley Ballas is arguably the Strictly Come Dancing judge contestants want to impress the most as the one with the casting vote during each results show. Dancing since she was seven, the Cheshire-born ballroom dancer has never been shy of giving her professional critique on the BBC One show, even when her comments have proved unpopular.
It's only been just over a week since the hit dance competition wrapped up its 2023 series but there is still plenty of glitter and sparkles left for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
Strictly Come Dancing's Bobby Brazier is in the middle of a 'secret feud' after it was noticed he's not following some co-stars on social media. Just one week on since the show's conclusion, eagle eyed fans noticed that the 20 year old actor from EastEnders didn't click follow for Les Dennis, Nikita Kanda, and Nigel Harman.
One of the Strictly Come Dancing judges looks 'set to be replaced' next year after fans issued a complaint saying it "drives me mad". Saturday night's (December 16) final saw Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke on the judging panel for the last time this year.
Strictly Come Dancing viewers have been left a little concerned for one of the show's professional dancers after an 'emotional' appearance during the final. Dianne Buswell made it to the end of the 2023 run of the BBC One dance contest with celebrity partner Bobby Brazier.
Ellie Leach was crowned the winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2023 alongside professional dancer Vito Coppola, and she had a sweet message for her dance partner after they lifted the Glitterball trophy. Ex-Coronation Street actress Ellie, 22, was completely stunned when Tess Daly, 54, and Claudia Winkelman, 51, announced she'd won, while Vito, 31, was immediately overcome with emotion and broke down in tears.
Craig Revel Horwood disagreed with his fellow judges at the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final as he opted to save Annabel Croft over Bobby Brazier - despite judges Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas voting in favour of saving the latter. Craig, 58, was the third judge to vote, leaving head judge Shirley, 62, to cast the deciding vote.
Strictly Come Dancing star Vito Coppola has shared his advice to Ellie Leach as he reacted to the news they had made it through to the final. The pair wowed in the ballroom over the weekend as they competed in the semi-final of the BBC One dance contest.
Strictly Come Dancing's 2023 finalists have been confirmed after a sad final exit. It's been 12 weeks since 14 celebrities first appeared in the ballroom after signing up for this year's run of the BBC One dance contest.
Shirley Ballas has dismissed any accusations of 'bias' as the made the final decision during the last Strictly Come Dancing results show. It was a crucial night in the ballroom on Saturday night as the remaining four couples danced twice for a place in the grand final.
Strictly Come Dancing fans were left demanding 'more' after an unexpected moment in the ballroom. The last results show of the series on Sunday night (December 10) saw the three finalists of the 2023 series decided ahead of next weekend's final.
Viewers said they had 'no idea' after missing what Ellie Leach was doing during her first performance on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night (December 9). It was crunch time for the former Coronation Street star and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola as they are favourites to make it through to next weekend's final.
Shirley Ballas has gotten herself a new name as she reacted to some big family news. The Strictly Come Dancing star reshared a post from her son, Mark Ballas, confirming the arrival of his first child, making her a grandmother for the first time.
The BBC Strictly Come Dancing original series hasn't even come to an end yet and already the winner of the pre-recorded Christmas special has been leaked online.
Strictly Come Dancing fans fear a 'crime' may take place before the end of the series as they made a complaint on Saturday night (December 2). The BBC One dance contest returned to screens after being thrown into chaos just hours before the quarter-finals.
Strictly Come Dancing viewers wasted no time in sharing their thoughts as Dianne Buswell debuted a completely different look during her latest appearance in the ballroom. The Australian dancer was back alongside Bobby Brazier after they made it through to the quarter-finals of the BBC One dance contest.
Strictly Come Dancing fans were left saying 'sorry' as they couldn't help but make the same point about Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell's latest routine. The pair were back in the ballroom on Saturday night (December 2) for the BBC One dance contest's Musicals week.
Strictly Come Dancing viewers were left saying 'good job' as Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola caused a bit of a divide as they opened Musicals week. It was all about the razzle-dazzle of the stage on Saturday night (December 2) as the BBC One dance contest returned to screens for the quarter-finals.
Layton Williams, contestant on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, has spoken out about rumours of a 'feud' with one of the show's judges. His dance partner Nikita Kuzmin also stood up for him during their appearance on This Morning on Tuesday (November 28), after they narrowly avoided being kicked off the dance contest.The duo received mixed reviews for their American Smooth routine to Bjork's It's Oh So Quiet on Saturday night, scoring a total of 34 points - lower than their usual scores.