Shirley Ballas revealed the secret behind her fabulous Saturday night hair during a talk at Good Housekeeping Live, in partnership with Dyson.
Shirley spoke to a live audience at the London event and shared some exclusive behind the scenes details.
For the latest series, Shirley revealed she had been wearing wigs which help protect her natural hair from the intense backcombing and styling routines required for the show each week.
“You know that was a wig on Strictly, right?” said Shirley of her shorter hairstyle on the show.
“I have a new gentleman called Sven and he’s very creative and he has all these wigs in a line…I thought it was rather good and it protects my own hair,” she said. “So I think we’ve done a good thing with the wigs, of course inspired by my friend Motsi because her wigs are just sensational. She said, ‘You’ve got to try it, you’ve got to try it!’ so I’m glad I took her advice.”
Behind the scenes, it seems the judges get on just as well as they do on camera. “I’ve got Motsi on my right and Anton on my left. I’m sandwiched between two beautiful humans,” Shirley said.
“I’ve known Anton for 35 years,” said Shirley, recalling him coming in to see her while she was teaching in studios over the years. “He’s always there for a cuddle.”
Shirley said she’s most likely to be wearing a grey tracksuit when she arrives for Strictly filming on a Saturday, whereas, “Anton will be in a three piece suit in the morning!”
While Craig has a reputation as being the toughest judge, Shirley said he is “the first one to send me flowers on my birthday or to call me to see how I am.”
During the talk, Shirley also revealed an unexpected Strictly fan in Camilla, Queen Consort; “I’ve met her several times, she loves to watch the show, she tunes in and I’ve actually been to a tea dance, I think it was at Kensington Palace, and she got up and she was having a lovely dance.”
She added that “somebody from the Royal Family would be amazing,” as a contestant on the show, “or of course Tom Jones would be rather nice.”
