Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed that she received 'suicidal' messages from fans during lockdown, prompting her to seek additional counselling to better support them. The 60-year-old dancer appeared on Wednesday's edition of Morning Live, where she discussed the overwhelming number of direct messages she received from people struggling with their mental health.
Ballas, who returned to therapy in 2020 while writing her memoir, admitted that she felt the need to gain more tools to help others. 'Some are kind of in a bad place, they can't handle lockdown, they become suicidal and one thing after another,' she explained. 'So I thought that I would get some more counselling, to learn some more tools, put my own feelings aside and then try to help the other people who are direct messaging me.'
The professional dancer also revealed that she has been leading online dance classes every Tuesday and Thursday to lift spirits, often joined by her boyfriend, Danny Taylor. 'I'm not a counsellor, but I can be there as a support for people, I can make them laugh on Tuesday and Thursday mornings,' she said. 'But actually going to a counsellor again and saying help me with these tools so I can help other people was very important.'
Ballas also opened up about her own struggles with the third lockdown, saying she coped by staying organised and maintaining a routine. 'It was a little difficult when we went into that third lockdown, I'm not going to lie. I resumed back to my boot camp lifestyle, which was making lists, sticking to my lists, getting up at seven and making sure I had my little workout time for myself,' she said.
