Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas is suffering with abuse from online trolls, and she's opened up about her experience to Olivia Attwood in a new documentary. "This whole experience has made me much more vigilant. I cannot say that I leave my front door unless I am on point. I never relax. It has changed my life completely I would say," she told the Love Island star.
Shirley's London abode is the perfect sanctuary for her to try and de-stress though, and previously she has welcomed HELLO! magazine into her private space for an exclusive interview and photoshoot. She revealed where she keeps her Strictly wardrobe and her abundant trophy collection, in the gorgeous home she has decorated with Hollywood glitz.
© Ken McKay/ITV/REX/ShutterstockIn the interview, Shirley talks about her love for her boyfriend Danny Taylor. "I just love that man," Shirley says of the handsome actor and producer. "I just want to sit there all day and stare at him. He is The One. We have a lot in common and we laugh all the time. He is part of the reason why I readjusted my life.
"Danny is just so magnificently special. I have met his parents and everybody likes each other. That’s a plus.” In the interview, Shirley also reveals why she sold her previous home in Los Angeles to permanently relocate back to London.
"When I got the Strictly job it made sense to come back to England. It was quite difficult to commute back and forth, and I really wanted to build my charity work. I simply can’t do that if I am on the other side of the world."
Another reason she left LA was the realisation that her son Mark now has his own life to lead. "When I moved to LA I was single and didn’t want to be on my own. But everyone goes on to have their own life, and Mark got married. In the end I thought I might as well base myself here."
Plus, I have many friends here. I didn’t overly have friends in LA. I would work and come home and watch television. I don’t think I have watched television since I have come back. I have got a man and Strictly and my mother. I think I am going to be much happier here."
Shirley also says the current series of Strictly is shaping up to be the best. "At the launch show I try to pick up the ones who don’t have their act together, but it was like opening a bottle of champagne and all the bubbles jumped out because everybody seems so excited.
MORE: Strictly Come Dancing judges' dazzling homes revealed
"There was an energy that I have never witnessed before. And I thought the pairings were unpredictable, so I think it’s going to be a very interesting show with some real surprises."
© Photo: RexThe TV star owns houses in both Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. For her home in the United Kingdom, Shirley used interior design company The Sparkle Company who decorated the whole house.
Shirley previously told HELLO! that she is a "perfectionist" when it comes to hosting guests at her home, explaining: "I like the knives and forks to be in a straight line. I like the spoons and everything to be in the right line. I like the table to be beautiful with flowers and a nice tablecloth. I'm the hostess with the mostess."
READ: Couples who found love on Strictly, I'm a Celebrity! and other reality shows
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