The big interview
Shirley Ballas opens up to Nathalie Whittle about her Strictly future, becoming a grandmother and why marriage is off the table
Shirley Ballas is a busy woman. She’s about to return as head judge on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, she’s one of the world’s most sought-after Latin coaches and she’s also about to release her first novel, Murder On The Dance Floor, about a promising young dancer who dies in mysterious circumstances.
But there’s another role that Shirley can’t help but share her excitement about on the Good Housekeeping cover shoot. ‘I have to tell you, I’m going to be a granny!’ she beams, revealing that her son, Mark, and his wife, who live in the US, are expecting their first baby in October. ‘I’m trying to decide whether I should be Cha Cha Nanny or Nanny Samba – Idon’t want anything traditional.’
Here, Shirley, who lives in London and is in a relationship with actor Daniel Taylor, shares why, at 62, life is only just beginning.
You’re going to be a grandmother – congratulations!
I can’t tell you how excited I am. Mark told us the news in such a thoughtful way. I was in Las Vegas with his dad, Corky, because Mark was performing out there, and after the show his dog came in wearing a little bandana. It took us a while before we finally clocked that on the front of the bandana it said, ‘Baby on board’!
What a lovely surprise!
It was wonderful. All I want now is for the little one to arrive safely. I’ve bought a tiny Paddington Bear from Marks & Spencer and put him on top of his mum and dad’s picture in my house, along with a lovely little cross I got in Rome and two candles, which I’ve been lighting every day.
What sort of grandmother do you think you’ll be?
Iwant to be a hands-on one, despite the distance between us. There’s so much I want to teach my grandchild – from equality to washing dishes and the importance of saving from a young age. And, of course, I want to do a lot of spoiling. I just hope Mark doesn’t think I’m too intense!
You seem to be busier than ever and you’re about to release your first novel. How does it feel?
It actually makes me quite emotional. I never imagined in a million years that, at 62, I’d be doing all these things. But what I’d say to anyone in their 50s, 60s and beyond is that we might not have the physique we once had – you might take your knickers off and your bum falls down to your heels, or your boobs fall down to your belly button – but that doesn’t mean we have to stop doing things, does it? In many ways, I feel like these are the happiest years of my life.
What motivated you to write the novel?
When I was writing my autobiography, there wer
