There's no denying there has been a lot of controversy surrounding this year's Strictly Come Dancing line-up, and now head judge Shirley Ballas has finally had her say.
On Wednesdays installment of Loose Women, the Strictly judge told the ladies exactly what she thought about the complaints that there arent enough high-profile celebrities taking to the dance floor this year.
“First of all, I dont think the BBC ever get it wrong. Thats just my feeling. They gave me a chance last year [as Head Judge] and I got a lot of abuse online and people didnt even know me or give me half a chance. This year is completely different. I feel embraced, I feel loved,” Shirley confessed.
Adding, “This is exactly whats going to happen with this – I believe – diverse panel of beautiful people, all with a story. Youve got a paraplegic Olympian… its just going to be fantastic. People need to give it a chance. Everybody has their opinions but, you know, theyre just opinions at the end of the day.”
TV presenter Katie Piper, Susannah Constantine, Blue singer Lee Ryan and BBC Newsreader Kate Silverton are among some of the celebs who will be competing in this years competition. And, thankfully Shirley has every faith in them.
“It has to be a mixture of people and, at the end of the day, people will watch it, theyll judge for themselves. Give these stars a chance and I know that, as with every year, with ratings, people love to tune in, and this is going to be a great panel of people,” she revealed.
The 57-year-old also shut down claims that some of the stars have had professional dance training, as she revealed it is completely different to Latin and ballroom.
“Everybodys done a little bit of dancing at some point during their careers Im sure. I think again everybody should give everybody a chance. You cant have anybody who cant dance,” Shirley confessed.
Adding, “Even if theyve got a little comedy, theyre still good at their comedy. They come down in clouds, they roll in on bicycles… theyre there to entertain and we sit with our family on those cold winter nights, we have our takeaway, the whole family enjoys it, some like it… they love it! They love it!”
Well, we couldnt agree more Shirley!
The post Give it a chance: Shirley Ballas hits back at complaints about this years Strictly line up appeared first on Woman Magazine.
