By Lucy Caulkett-
Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas(pictured) was taken to hospital after falling and hitting her head on a glass table.
The 65-year-old head judge on the BBC dancing programme said she was taking time to heal her neck and back following the incident, but had not injured her skull.
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In a post on Instagram, Ballas said: “Thank you to all who reached out to see how I’m doing.
“Scary fall backwards hitting my head on the glass dressing table. Trip to hospital to get a brain scan. Fortunately for me no cracked skull. “I’ll rest a few days to heal my neck and back.
Ballas said she would need to allow her neck and back to heal after the fall (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
“Hugs (and) thank you to @barbara_mccoll (a fellow professional dancer) for getting my emergency appointment and to Sammy Stopford (her ex-husband) for taking me, and sitting with me all day. Gratitude, as the doctor said I was very lucky.”
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“Fortunately for me no cracked skull,” she told fans. “I’ll rest a few days to heel my neck and back. [sic] Hugs thank you to @barbara_mccoll for getting my emergency appointment to Sammy Stopford for taking me, and sitting with me all day. [sic]”.
Ballas is due to take part in the Strictly Come Dancing live tour with fellow judges Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood when it begins next week, with 30 shows scheduled until February 15.
The Wirral-born star joined Strictly in 2017, and made her debut as head judge in September that year. Ballas has used her platform to advocate for male suicide awareness and men’s mental health, after her brother took his own life in 2003. She won viewers over with her expert knowledge, strict standards and Scouse warmth, and met Danny in pantomime the following year. They separated in late 2024,
The television star has expressed caution when it comes to dating, saying she is very careful whom she dates , and carefully considers advances from men to go out. Clearly setting the qualities she seeks in a man, she says: :’Humour. I like somebody with some intellect.’ Generosity, too. ‘I’ve always been that person that pays for everybody, so it’s actually quite nice when they say, “No, I’ve got this.” I think, “Oh, this is nice.” Somebody who’s smart, well kept, takes care of themselves. I like that kind of guy.’
That guy will be dating someone who describes herself as very organised indeed.
‘I juice throughout the day and have only one meal. I’m the slimmest I’ve been since 2017. I do hotpod yoga every day and get quite upset if I can’t do it. That is my sanctuary,’ she said
‘I go to the gym when I can. If it’s green and grown in the ground, I like to eat it. That doesn’t mean I don’t cheat. These are the rules for me, not for anybody else.’
She is an ambassador for charities Campaign Against Living Miserably and Suicide&Co.
In August last year, Ballas said she will “never feel completely safe again” after being targeted by a stalker who accused her of killing a member of her family in an interview with the Sunday Mirror.
The star has also worked to raise awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties, after her mother Audrey was diagnosed in 2022.
Ballas is due to take part in the Strictly Come Dancing live tour with fellow judges Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood when it begins next week, with 30 shows scheduled until February 15.
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