Shirley Ballas is dressed down in a black tracksuit and tucking into a basket of French fries following our photo shoot at an east London studio.
She cuts a more casual figure than the one we’re used to seeing light up our TV screens each weekend, and there’s an air of vulnerability about the star who’s typically so feisty and vivacious when on the Strictly judging panel.
It’s her sixth season on the BBC show, which she’s likened to “rainbows” coming out every Saturday.
