Shirley Ballas guest judges Dancing With The Stars amid Strictly future talk

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 29 Oct, 11:21 · Archive

Shirley Ballas appeared as a guest judge on the American version of Dancing With The Stars, sparking speculation about her Strictly future.

Shirley Ballas appeared as a guest judge on Dancing With The Stars, the American counterpart to Strictly Come Dancing, for a Halloween special episode. During the broadcast, she gave notably lower scores than her fellow judges, awarding four points each to actors Julia Stiles and Tatyana Ali when other judges awarded sevens and eights.

When asked to defend her strict scoring on Good Morning America, Ballas explained her approach. "If you're giving out 10s every week, where are they gonna grow to?" she said. She noted that in Britain, scores of four and five are considered positive. "I'm not very good at doing fluff. It's very straight down the line for me," she added.

The Mirror reports that BBC producers are growing concerned that both Ballas and fellow judge Motsi Mabuse may not return when their contracts expire, with insiders claiming there is no rush to sign. However, Ballas told Prima magazine she is staying at Strictly. "It's going to be very interesting, but I'm 100 per cent not leaving Strictly," she said. She plans to manage both roles by filming Dancing With The Stars during the week and returning for Strictly's weekend broadcasts. Ballas joined Strictly as head judge in 2017.

How it is being reported

• Shirley Ballas Doubles Down After Dancing With The Stars BacklashStrictly Come Dancing ’s head judge Shirley Ballas made quite an impact when she travelled across the Atlantic to guest judge on the American version of the show Dancing With The Stars . During her stint on the Dancing With The Stars panel, Shirley drew backlash when she brought her brand of harsh criticism to the US ballroom, giving many of the celebrity contestants lower scores than her fellow judges. After causing a stir with her stingy scoring, the Queen of Latin has doubled down on her critiques, speaking to Good Morning America moments after the live show ended. Shirley Ballas' harsh…HuffPost UK · 29 Oct, 11:01
• Shirley Ballas Speaks Out Amid Speculation About Her Strictly Come Dancing FutureRumours began circulating this week that this series of Strictly Come Dancing could be the last for its head judge Shirley Ballas . However, the Queen of Latin has reassured fans that she will be staying on the BBC show for the foreseeable future. On Tuesday night, Shirley appeared as a guest judge on Strictly’s US counterpart, Dancing With The Stars , for its annual Halloween special. This came just weeks after she appeared as a judge on the spin-off series Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro, where she and her dancer son, Mark Ballas , tried to find a new pro dancer for the main show.…HuffPost UK · 28 Oct, 10:42
• All the signs Shirley Ballas is quitting Strictly as she heads to America to judge her own sonShirley Ballas has been dropping hints that she wants to see what other career opportunities are out there, but does that mean she'll soon call time on nearly a decade on Strictly?The Mirror · 27 Oct, 16:25

In this story: Shirley Ballas · Mark Ballas · Julia Stiles · BBC · Dancing With The Stars · Strictly Come Dancing

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