Shirley Ballas

Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles which earned her the nickname the Queen of Latin.

In 2017 Ballas was appointed head judge on the BBC TV show, Strictly Come Dancing following the departure of Len Goodman.

Ballas was born and raised in Wallasey, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England, with brother David and mother Audrey. The children's father left the family when Shirley was 2 years old. She began dancing at age 7, and began performing competitively the following years.

At the age of 15 Ballas moved to Shipley, West Yorkshire to live with the family of new partner, British Ballroom Champion, Nigel Tiffany, which she described as "a difficult time". Two years later, she moved with Tiffany to London, where their partnership ended after dance teacher Nina Hunt convinced her to audition to partner with dancer Sammy Stopford. The two married when Ballas was 18, with the relationship ending five years later. As dance partners, their best result was winning Professional Latin at Blackpool Dance Festival in 1983.

In 1985 she married American ballroom dancer Corky Ballas. Together their best results were winning Professional Latin at Blackpool Dance Festival in 1995 and 1996 The pair moved to Houston, Texas to compete in the US. Their only child, professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas, was born in 1986. The couple divorced in 2007.

Ballas stopped competing in dance competitions in 1996, becoming a dance coach and judge for ballroom and Latin American competitions.

In December 2023 Ballas was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where her choices included"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, "Moon River" by Frank Sinatra, "Highs and Lows" by Alexander Jean.

Dancing with the Stars

Ballas has appeared on Dancing with the Stars, giving master classes and commentating on the show.

Strictly Come Dancing

On 9 May 2017, it was announced that Ballas would be joining the judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One, replacing Len Goodman as head judge. She made her first appearance on the panel four months later - at the launch show of series 15 on 9 September that year.

Ballas' brother David took his own life, aged 44, in 2003. Ballas was "absolutely devastated" and now works with mental health charity the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). In August 2023 Ballas completed the zipwire challenge at Zip World at Penrhyn Quarry in Gwynedd, and planned a 700 ft wing walk and 15,000 ft skydive, to raise money for the charity.

• Behind the Sequins: My Life (BBC Books, October 2020) ISBN 9781785945113
• Murder on the Dance Floor (HQ Books, October 2023) ISBN 9780008558000