Shirley Ballas' poignant reason for not celebrating Xmas for 20 years
The waiting is almost over. Tonight just one star will be crowned the Strictly cha-cha-champion. Will it be actor and model Bobby Brazier, 20? Former Corrie actress Ellie Leach, 22? Or West End and sitcom star Layton Williams, 29?
They each have just three turns left on the Strictly dancefloor to prove why they, and they alone, should lift the coveted Glitterball trophy. But they’d better bring their A-game: For head judge Shirley Ballas is expecting one of the most energetic finals in years.
And there’s no excuse if it isn’t. “They are all under 30, so I don’t want to see any stamina issues,” she says. “They should all be fit as fiddles and be able to execute all three dances A-starly. Each of them really deserved their place in the final. It’s going to be very exciting.”
And Shirley’s excitement this Christmas will not end there. Because for the first time in 20 years she’s determined to celebrate. It was just before Christmas 2003 that Shirley’s dear brother David took his own life – and ever since then her family haven’t exchanged presents, eaten a Christmas dinner or put up decorations.
Shirley with brother David, who took his own life aged 44 (DAILY MIRROR)But this year she reveals it will be different – for a very special reason. Last month – exactly a month before the 20th anniversary of her brother’s death – Queen of Latin Shirley became a grandmother for the first time.
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She’ll be flying over the LA to finally meet her grandson, Banksi Wylde, on Boxing Day. Shirley, 63, whose 86-year-old mother Audrey lives with her, says: “For many, many years we never celebrated Christmas. It just passed by like any other day.
“It’s very difficult to lose a loved one at Christmas time, it definitely drains your Christmas spirit. But this year we’ve made plans. I’m taking my mum and my niece, David’s daughter, to The Savoy, we’re going to have a day out on Christmas Day so Mum doesn’t have to cook, wash or clean.”
Also with them at the Savoy will be Shirley’s fiancé Danny, 50, who she got engaged to in September, despite rumours they had split. They met while starring in a Jack and the Beanstalk panto in 2018. “It will just be nice be together on Christmas Day, just the four of us,” she says.
They will make sure David is still part of it too. “We always set places at the table for David, we talk about him all the time, and I’m sure we’ll be reliving memories and showing photographs, even though we’ve done it 10,000 times.”
Last week Shirley posted a poignant tribute to her older brother on the anniversary of his death aged 44. “Our worlds came crashing down,” she wrote. “How time flies dearest David… you are truly missed on a daily basis.”
Shirley Ballas and Danny Taylor (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
With son Mark (Mediapunch/REX/Shutterstock)Also last week, her son Mark, a former pro on US’s Dancing with the Stars, publicly announced the arrival of Banksi, a month after American wife, singer-songwriter BC Jean gave birth. Shirley’s counting the days until they meet. “It’s very exciting,” she says. “We FaceTime every day so I see all the changes, he only has to burp and my son calls me! But I can’t wait until I’ll finally meet him. He looks like me and my brother.”
Shirley’s conscious she doesn’t want to be that “overimposing grandmother”. Instead she says she’ll be “very supportive, very encouraging”. “When my son was born I thought he pooped pink ice-cream, because everything he did was marvellous, and with Banski it will be the same,” she says.
Perhaps not surprisingly, having a grandson has changed her New Year’s Resolutions list. “I definitely want to try to find more time for myself, not to retire, but to semi-retire at 63,” she admits. “I don’t hold out much hope of that - but I definitely want to have more time to spend with my grandson.” Shirley has also given gifts to her fellow Strictly judges.
She says: “I like to be well organised and give them out at the beginning of December. I know them all so well. Craig and Anton like nice bottles of wine, and for Motsi and her daughter I got some cocoa bombs and other bits. And I like to write cards and share my feelings. We all get on amazingly well. We’ve all known each other for so long.”
Shirley had previously been wavering about her future on the show after being trolled last series. But this year has been “one of the best” since she joined in 2017.
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She says the final couples – Layton and Nikita Kuzmin, Ellie and Vito Coppola, and Bobby and Dianne Buswell – are all “fabulous”. But she also wants to support those having difficulties at this time of year. It’s important to reach out to anyone who’s lonely or struggling,” she says. “For them, it’s so important to talk. At the beginning of my grief 20 years ago it was difficult to talk about it, but I’ve learned it really does help.
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel.” ...And all round her house, thanks to the return of her decorations this year.
- Strictly Come Dancing: The Final, tonight at 7pm, BBC One and iPlayer
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