Strictly Come Dancing's head judge Shirley Ballas has shared a heartwarming achievement with her fans amid the "difficult" week she faced.
MORE: Strictly's Shirley Ballas speaks out after receiving 'hurtful' messages over the weekend
The Ballroom and Latin dance champion took to her social media to reveal she had been honoured with the Special Award at the Ballroom Dancers Federation ceremony.
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Posting on her Instagram Stories, Shirley shared a photo of her holding the award as she wrote: "This certainly made a difficult week more beautiful.
"Second industry award this week. I guess I do know a thing or two about dance." The BBC judge continued: "Feeling honoured to be celebrated in my own industry for outstanding work spanning 4 decades. I'm honoured to accept this award. It filled my heart as it came with love appreciation and kindness."
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© Photo: InstagramShirley shared her award on her Instagram Stories
Shirley's award comes shortly after she spoke out about the "hurtful messages" she had received following Sunday night results show of Strictly. The judge upset some viewers when she explained that, contrary to her colleagues Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke, she would have instead chosen to save Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice over Fleur East and Vito Coppola.
After revealing she had been sent abusive messaged, Shirley said: "I have received many apologies over the weekend regarding hurtful messages I've received on social media. All apologies are accepted and from now on let's all respect each other and enjoy the show. Love to you all."
© Photo: BBCShirley said she'd had a "difficult week"
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Fans were quick to reply underneath and share their reaction. One person was keen to defend Shirley as they wrote: "You should not receive hurtful messages! I'm sorry you had to read them! My suggestion from what I'm seeing is that you are too flirty with the men! It undermines your position! If a man flirted with the women that way it would seem a bit creepy."
Another said: "I don't understand why the public have turned against strictly all of a sudden, if they don't like it they can simply turn off. Much Love to you X." A third tweeted: "I'm glad people apologised to you. Social media is rubbish sometimes. Your dress was gorgeous on Saturday by the way. You looked stunning."
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