Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas has revealed that she demanded a "sincere apology" from Craig Revel Horwood after he made some very scathing comments about her appearance during her first ever audition for the show. The Sun reported in October that Craig had made the remarks during his book tour, admitting that the part of his book had been removed by the BBC. He told the audience that Shirley had worn a revealing outfit, saying: "What happened is that she came to the audition and literally had her thing open to her navel… It was not very, erm, Strictly. So they came in and sewed all that up. Then they had to push them down . . . and they’re fake."
Shirley and Craig with Strictly colleagues Darcey and Bruno
Shirley has now spoken out on the matter, telling the same publication: "I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to make comments about anyone else — be it about their body or anything they do — when working as a team. I'm a team player and I have the backs of my fellow people. Yes, I got an apology — a sincere apology."
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Craig, Shirley and fellow judges Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli will return to Strictly screens for the Blackpool edition of the show on Saturday night, and will no doubt put on a united front. Last week's installment saw an emotional moment for Shirley, when she broke down in tears following Ashley Robert's poignant contemporary routine in memory of her late father.
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She said: "Well I think today you spoke for everybody in the country who has ever lost somebody that they love. And, I also lost somebody and many other people have lost somebody. This was sincere. It was from your heart and purely danced from a beautiful place." She continued: "And I’m so, so sad your dad is not here to see you but I know he would be proud of you." Strictly will air again on Saturday night at 6:45pm.