The Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed she was once told she had been marked down for a performance due to her “revolting” stretch marks.
Speaking to the Radio Times Podcast, Ballas, who won several championship titles during her time as a dancer, said the comments were made to her by a judge six weeks after she gave birth.
The 63-year-old, who stopped participating in dancing competitions in the 1990s before becoming a coach and judge, said: “I went back to dancing six weeks after having my baby. I got told: ‘I marked you third because I refuse to look at the stretch marks on your back. I find it revolting.’
Ballas said: “I just accepted it, moved on and did what I needed to do – for me, it was character building.”
Ballas, who joined the Strictly Come Dancing judges panel in 2017, told the podcast she was doubtful the programme would want to recruit a woman her age.
She said: “I said, ‘Nobody is going to take a 57-year-old woman with no TV experience on a beautiful show like that.’ I did two auditions – one was diabolical, the other I smashed – and Strictly gave me the opportunity.”
She told the podcast she had to try to be less severe when critiquing other dancers.
“I had so many walls up from working in the industry for years. When we critique someone there’s a frown and you’re very direct,” she said, adding her son gave her guidance on being constructive and smiling.
Ballas said: “‘Maybe that way’ rather than ‘Your footwork sucks.’ I think I do a pretty good job.”
Ballas, dubbed the Queen of Latin due to her repeated success as a dancer in the International Latin division, took over as judge on the Saturday night BBC One show from her former teacher Len Goodman.
