Shirley Ballas

In 2017, Ballas was appointed head judge on the BBC TV show, Strictly Come Dancing following the departure of Len Goodman.

On 9 May 2017, it was announced that Ballas would be joining the judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One, replacing Len Goodman as head judge. She made her first appearance on the panel four months later - at the launch show of series 15 on 9 September that year.

Ballas stopped competing in dance competitions in 1996, becoming a dance coach and judge for ballroom and Latin American competitions.

At 15, Ballas moved to North Yorkshire to partner British Ballroom Champion Nigel Tiffany, which she described as "a difficult time". Two years later, she moved with Tiffany to London, where their partnership ended after dance teacher Nina Hunt convinced her to audition to partner with dancer Sammy Stopford. The two married when Ballas was 18, with the relationship ending five years later. As dance partners, their best result was winning Professional Latin at Blackpool Dance Festival in 1983.

In the mid-1980s, she married Corky Ballas. Together their best results were winning Professional Latin at Blackpool Dance Festival in 1995 and 1996 The pair moved to Houston, Texas to compete in the US. Their only child, professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas, was born in 1986. The couple were divorced in 2007.

Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator from Wallasey who specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles which earned her the nickname The Queen of Latin.