16 December 2023 , 09:55
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Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has said she is "close to" outing the "bullies" that have plagued her throughout her incredible career.
The 'Queen of Latin' won competition titles and competed in the International Latin division, as well as going on to have a successful career as a dance coach, before joining Strictly in 2017 as head judge.
But she's been outspoken about the trolling and abuse she's been on the receiving end of and has recently threatened to name those involved.
Shirley, 63, recently said: "I don’t know how people get away with it until it becomes ‘name and shame.
Shirley has been head judge since 2017 (BBC)"I am pretty much close to doing that I’ll tell you."
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Discussing whether she thinks there is a level of misogyny in the industry, she explained: "Yes for sure, 100 percent for sure and I don’t think it is much better today. I still think that bullying goes on. There are a lot of great people in my industry, there are a lot of people who want to see people do extremely well and I think we have this handful of misogynistic people with egos that just will not deflate."
Speaking on Desert Island Discs on Radio 4, she added: "I was going through immense bullying in the industry from men at the top. I will just go as far as that. They were stopping my work. 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 are nine of us and one of her.’
"If you train with her we are going to make sure you don’t make it in the industry.’"
Shirley has threatened to name her 'bullies' (Getty Images)
The 63-year-old has had a successful career in the dance industry (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)But despite her critics and their attempts to bring her down, Shirley has seen it as even more of an incentive to do well.
She added: “You know who you are and everybody in my industry knows who they are. Thank you to the bullies because you gave me a platform and a job which I sincerely love and adore.”
Shirley has tried to keep her chin up when the trolling has been especially bad, saying the fact she loves her job is her incentive to get through the tough times.
Shirley told OK!: "I’d never want to leave Strictly. I’ll be on TV and on the tour for as long as they’ll have me.
"I love Strictly. It’s like a day at Disneyland for me. When it’s ‘lights, camera, action’ I forget everything that’s gone on in the week. But it’s just on a weekend. I can always fly to the States on a Monday and come back on a Friday."