Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas has spoken about going back into therapy over lockdown to help tackle self-esteem issues.
The head judge on the BBC One show appeared on Loose Women today, discussing ‘self-love’ during the pandemic and looking back while writing her new book.
Shirley spoke on the ITV show to presenters Jane Moore, Carol McGiffin, Judi Love and Linda Robson about seeing a therapist during the pandemic.
‘I’ve had self-esteem issues all my life that I’ve bottled up,’ Shirley said.
‘I’m trying to deal with these issues now. I’m constantly trying to find a way to work on myself… My therapists gives me great tools. He’s someone I can talk to in a non-judgemental way.’
She added: ‘At the moment I need it every week. Particularly with the lockdown.’
Shirley also spoke about losing her brother David following his suicide in 2004.
‘When David died I didn’t know anything at all about mental health… It was just a very difficult time,’ she said.
‘I feel like education is key. Talking is key,’ she said, before urging people suffering with mental health issues to seek help from charities like Calm and Mind.
Shirley went on to speak about the fallout from her split from first husband Sammy Stopford. While the pair divorced in 1984, the Strictly judge said that they pair now live over the road from each other and are still close.
She called him a ‘favourite person’ of hers, and that they were ‘tied at the heart until the day [they] die’.
Shirley also spoke about this year’s series of Strictly, saying that she ‘hasn’t missed’ the live audience as much as she’d expected.
‘The dancers bring so much joy and they’ve added to everything,’ she said.
When asked who her favourite contestants were on this year’s show, she replied: ‘One shouldn’t really have favourites as judges.’
She did however say: ‘Of course we love HRVY and we love Maisie [Smith] because they’re at the top of the leaderboard.’
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday at 7.25pm on BBC One.
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